How common is it for law firms to take action against a departing associate who takes the firm documents and demand deletion or sue the associate?   Do firms typically escalate these situations by reporting them to the new employer or to the bar?

My understanding is that firms do monitor for this behavior, but typically avoid litigation unless the individual is actively using the firm’s materials or has brought a claim against the firm, such as a discrimination complaint.

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Yeah I think firms rarely sue for stuff like this. But how aggressive they’d be in enforcement I think depends heavily on what was taken/how egregious it was, firm culture, etc. And as lawyers we know there’s a whole range of action that happens before you ever see a public lawsuit (demand letters, back room convos between GCs at the old and new firm, etc.) Also the destination kinda matters a lot. Going from Latham to a direct competitor like K&E with stacks of confidential deal docs is a very different situation than going to a random startup with a few blank templates you principally drafted, just to illustrate with extremes. All that to say, “it depends.”

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Thanks for your response!

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I emailed to my personal email and got an email from the firm's general counsel, so they def monitor. You should obviously use a data room or file link or something a little more subtle than what I did. Nothing came of the general counsel's email; I said i would delete and of course never did.

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From recent experience (not me, but another associate in the group who was caught accessing the system for unauthorized purposes after they'd given notice), I can tell you firms for SURE monitor this. And why take the risk? If you're going anywhere decent, they will have their own templates, precedent, etc. so there's really no reason to take those types of documents anyway. The only thing I've ever taken when lateraling were my Outlook contacts (which aren't proprietary or confidential) and personal files.

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Agree with this advice 100%. Don't risk it. It's not ethical and likely violates documents you signed when you joined the firm. Basing your decision on whether you are likely to get caught and/or sued is not acting as a professional. Your professional reputation is all you have.

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Just delete them?

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I'm not sure what would come of a lawsuit. Templates are already all over the place since people share docs. I have literally repuprosed docs and Excels from other firms all the time. They're likely already saved on the new firm's dms, so you taking them is just administrative convenience.

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My firm sued a former associate who took templates and thousands of other documents. Also told new employer letting it know it may not use stolen documents. That firm confirmed and put the associate “on notice”.

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