Andrew Robertson, the former office manager for the Washington and Northern Virginia offices of Morrison & Foerster is accused of bilking $400K from the firm in the form of unauthorized credit card charges and transfers over a nearly two year period. As an office manager, Robertson had a company card and the authority to purchase office supplies to keep all the little MoFos flush with pens and legal pads.
Which is why it’s kind of amazing that it would take the firm so long to notice the designer clothing and big screen televisions that prosecutors allege showed up on the bills. But there was so much more!
There were more than a dozen pairs of Air Jordans, including one with a “gold toe” design. Other alleged purchases included an Apple laptop, a sleeper sofa from Crate & Barrel, a 24-inch gold chain necklace, a 1980s-style prom king costume and a white-gold pinkie ring.
Either MoFo’s D.C. office holds a bitchin’ throwback prom every year or that should have raised a red flag. In either event, the allegations make Robertson sound like a blast to party with.
Every time there’s a story about a disloyal law firm employee, it’s always amazing just how easy it appears to be to get the first $100K or so out of a firm. Obviously law firms deal in large sums of money — MoFo is a billion dollar firm after all — but this is like having a whole extra associate or two and not noticing. To its credit, MoFo did discover the discrepancies and turn the matter over to the authorities after firing him, but a lot of money got nipped before anyone caught it.
It makes you wonder how much firms around the country might be losing to schemes that stay below the threshold. This might be a good time for at least a cursory audit.
An 80s Prom King Costume, Designer Clothes and a Gold Pinkie Ring: Former Morrison & Foerster Employee Accused of Misusing Firm’s Credit Card [National Law Journal]
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.