Complaint Review: Lisa Borodkin

One of the most talked-about issues of 2017-18 has been the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and misconduct in the workplace. The list of the accused includes some of the most powerful men in the country – Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Kevin Spacey, Senator Al Franken, Judge Roy Moore. Even the President of the United States. But sexual misconduct in the workplace is not something that only men are guilty of.

Although it’s rare, sometimes women are accused of the same boorish behavior. For example, consider the case of Los Angeles-based attorney LISA JEAN BORODKIN. Ms. Borodkin was recently sued by her former employer, the law firm of Zuber, Lawler & Del Duca in a case filed in federal court in Los Angeles in Case No. CV13-00025 filed in the Central District of California.

According to the firm's cross-complaint, Borodkin LIED about her work history, LIED about her legal skills and experience, and failed to adequately prepare a case for trial, which resulted in more than $250,000 in damages to the firm. That’s bad, but it’s not what makes the case interesting. Where the story really gets weird is in the sworn affidavits filed by other employees of the firm, copies of which are shown below. According to these affidavits, Ms. Borodkin engaged in a bizarre series of workplace sexual misconduct that would probably qualify her for a top-level internship at the Harvey Weinstein Company.

The allegations against Ms. Borodkin included: -- Providing SEX TOYS to female staff members, stating "the sex toys were for our use and that 'when she gets more, she’ll hand out more.’” -- Giving a female co-worker "a book which purported to tout the SEXUAL BENEFITS OF WEIGHT LOSS.” -- LYING ON HER RÉSUMÉ by failing to disclose that "she had been employed by no fewer than NINE law firms in the approximately 12 years that she had been employed as an attorney.” -- Verbally abusing staff and co-workers, including telling another associate attorney "I was only to speak when spoken to.” -- SOLICITING PERJURY by asking another attorney at the firm to make false representations to a federal court in Arizona (which the co-worker refused to do, calling Borodkin’s request: "a serious breach of my ethical duties and a criminal act.”);

Incredibly, Ms. Borodkin only worked at the firm for less than three months when this long list of misconduct allegedly occurred. She was fired from the firm in November 2012 when her supervisor entered her office, told her to leave, and threatened to have building security escort her out. After she was fired, Borodkin sued her former employer claiming, among other things, that the firm did not allow her to "set up an 'Out of the Office’ email message” after she was fired. In response, the law firm asserted numerous counterclaims against Borodkin accusing her of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. Borodkin initially tried to have those claims thrown out, but in an order dated June 10, 2013, the federal court denied Borodkin’s motion, finding the law firm had supplied a vast amount of evidence to support its misconduct claims, including more than half a dozen sworn affidavits from other attorneys and staff, verifying Borodkin’s bizarre misconduct.

The case was eventually settled on terms which remain undisclosed (yet another thing Borodkin has in common with Harvey Weinstein). In addition to handing out sex toys at work and telling co-workers not to speak without permission, Borodkin has been accused of other serious misconduct in other cases.

More on that coming soon....