Employment
law
firm
Wigdor
Law
is
known
for
taking
on
big
—
and
highly
publicized
—
cases
focusing
on
representing
clients
with
discrimination,
sexual
harassment
or
assault
claims.
And
they
take
on
big
names
—
the
NFL,
Meta,
Sean
Combs,
Intel,
St.
Lawrence
University,
Harvey
Weinstein,
TikTok,
to
name
a
few.
But
it
is
the
firm’s
litigation
surrounding
the
sexual
misconduct
allegations
of
former
New
York
Governor
Andrew
Cuomo
that
led
to
a
lawsuit
being
filed
against
the
firm.
Former
Cuomo
spokesperson,
Richard
Azzopardi,
filed
a
malicious
prosecution
lawsuit
against
Wigdor
Law
in
New
York
state
court
earlier
this
week.
(Complaint
available
below.)
In
2022,
Wigdor
represented
an
anonymous
New
York
trooper
(trooper
1)
that
alleged
sexual
harassment
at
the
hands
of
Cuomo,
and
that
lawsuit
included
claims
against
Azzopardi.
But
Azzopardi
alleges
Wigdor
had
“full
knowledge
that
the
claims
asserted
were
frivolous
and
unsustainable
as
a
matter
of
law.”
Azzoparsi
claims
he
was
publicly
critical
of
trooper
1’s
lawsuit
against
Cuomo
and
the
Wigdor
Law
firm
and,
thus,
in
retaliation
claims
were
added
against
Azzopardi.
As
reported
by
Law360:
Azzopardi
said
Wigdor
is
“widely
known
to
use
the
press
to
extort
settlements
on
behalf
of
‘anonymous
claimants’”
in
a
public
statement
issued
shortly
after
the
trooper’s
suit
was
filed,
the
complaint
says.A
day
later,
the
trooper
filed
an
amended
complaint
that
added
Azzopardi
as
a
defendant
on
one
claim
of
retaliation.“Defendant
Wigdor
…
joined
Azzopardi
to
the
pre-existing
suit
solely
because
he
had
publicly
expressed
his
opinions
about
defendant
Wigdor’s
practices,”
Azzopardi
said.
Earlier
this
year,
the
retaliation
claim
against
Azzopardi
was
thrown
out.
Trooper
1
subsequently
filed
a
new
lawsuit
against
Azzopardi
and
Cuomo
alleging
they
attempted
to
“coerce,
intimidate
and
threaten
trooper
1.”
Azzopardi
was
critical
of
the
new
lawsuit,
“This
new
state
action
materially
regurgitates
the
same
allegations
contained
in
the
now
dismissed
federal
complaint.”
Azzopardi’s
complaint
alleges
that
the
litigation
against
him
was
designed
by
the
firm
to
maximize
the
negative
impact,
“Defendant
Wigdor
filed
the
first
amended
federal
complaint
and
publicized
it
widely
solely
to
harm,
render
unmarketable
and
humiliate
Azzopardi.”
Wigdor
has
gone
on
the
offensive
in
the
face
of
the
lawsuit
with
attorney
Valdi
Licul
saying
Azzopardi’s
lawsuit
is
“the
latest
attempt
to
silence
one
of
Andrew
Cuomo’s
victims
and
interfere
with
her
rights.”
“As
set
forth
in
Trooper
1’s
recently-filed
complaint,
Mr.
Cuomo
—
often
through
his
spokesperson
Richard
Azzopardi
—
has
lobbed
threats
at
anyone
who
has
sought
to
hold
him
to
account
for
creating
what
federal
and
state
authorities
have
repeatedly
found
to
be
a
hostile
work
environment
for
women,”
Licul
said.
“We
will
not
be
deterred
by
this
latest
desperate
tactic.”
1884000-1884762-not_assigned_richard_azzopardi_v_trooper_1_et_al_summons___complaint_1
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].