Lawyer's suit claims law firm wrongly fired her, then misappropriated her likeness
A former lawyer with a construction law firm based in Philadelphia has filed a lawsuit accusing her one-time employer of improperly firing her and then misappropriating her likeness by keeping her photo on its website.
The suit by Melissa Angeline also accuses law firm Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman of defaming her by asserting she was fired for poor performance, the Legal Intelligencer reports in a story reprinted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Angeline alleges she was fired in October 2012 for taking time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act, though she was told she was “temporarily laid off because of a lack of work,” the story says. She says she was the only lawyer laid off in 2012 for a claimed lack of work, and the law firm has had an “abundance of business.”
The suit says Angeline had “exceeds expectations” reviews and a high realization rate on her billings.
Managing partner Jason Copley told the Intelligencer that “we deny all of the allegations, which are entirely without merit.”
