Think tank sues Winstead for $1M, says firm helped CEO secretly settle with worker by promoting her
A think tank has sued a prominent Texas-based law firm and its chairman emeritus, contending that they helped its then-CEO try to settle an employee’s claim against him at great cost to the organization.
At issue was a claim by an assistant to founder and CEO John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis that he had sexually harassed her and assaulted her in a California hotel room in 2012. In an attempt to quash a threatened lawsuit, the NCPA says in the suit, Mike Baggett of Winstead initially represented Goodman and helped arrange a deal under which the employee was promoted to a job as director of human relations at $85,000 per year, according to the Dallas Morning News and D Magazine’s FrontBurner blog.
Meanwhile, the full NCPA board allegedly was told nothing for nearly 18 months of the allegations, a claimed affair between Goodman and the employee, or the settlement. Only after the employee made another sexual harassment claim in February of this year—after Winstead’s representation of Goodman for two months at a cost of $31,000—did the board find out in April what had been claimed and learn of the law firm’s representation of Goodman, the suit says. In addition to working for the NCPA as a Winstead shareholder, Baggett was also a member of the NCPA’s board at the time.
Filed Monday in Dallas County District Court, the suit seeks at least $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages and attorney fees for alleged legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and negligent misrepresentation. It contends the NCPA lost significant funding and nearly was destroyed by news of the employment dispute. Additionally, the NCPA says the organization was forced to settle with both Goodman and the employee on unfavorable terms because of the law firm’s handling of the matter. Neither Goodman nor the woman now work for the NCPA.
“With no remorse, Baggett actively covered up the ugly events of 2012, looked the other way, and when his conduct was exposed, he repeated the mantra of too many lawyers throughout the land: deny, deny, deny,” the suit says. “Baggett pushed the moral compass of the organization to its polar extreme.”
Law firm chairman and CEO Kevin Sullivan said Winstead does not comment specifically on pending litigation, but he made a general statement supporting Baggett and promising a vigorous defense.
“All of us at Winstead have always taken great pride in Mike Baggett’s many accomplishments whether in the courtroom, on the civic front, or with the bar association,” Sullivan said. “We look forward to vigorously defending these allegations and feel certain that a thorough review of the circumstances will show that Mike acted appropriately and ethically as he always does.”
