Judge Ann Montgomery of the U.S. District Court for District of Minnesota ruled on July 13 that Halunen & Associates should not represent the plaintiffs in Gifford v. Target Corp., due to confidentiality concerns that were raised by Target.
Target, according to the opinion, had argued that Halunen & Associates should be disqualified because its lawyers received attorney-client and confidential business information from a former Target executive, who was referred to as “Jane Doe” in court documents. Doe was a psychologist and senior manager who oversaw employee development programs, and had met with two Halunen lawyers—Clayton Halulen and Joni Thome—on several occasions prior to the filing of the lawsuit on April 7. The firm was lead counsel on the case.
“In the instant case, the circumstances warrant disqualification because conduct has occurred that taints these proceedings and, if left unremedied, potentially undermines public confidence in the legal profession,” Montgomery wrote. “There is a strong likelihood that the Halunen firm’s repeated contacts with Doe intruded upon Target’s right to confidentiality and privilege.”
In its defense, the Halunen firm argued that it took proper steps to ensure that privileged information was not disclosed. The firm said it did not review privileged documents and that its lawyers did not learn privileged information during their discussions with Doe.
“We think we went above and beyond to ensure that our client—the Jane Doe—didn’t divulge any of the attorney-client privilege information that she may have encountered during her time at Target,” Thome said. “I think it’s a very disappointing decision. We believe we did everything we were obligated to do and beyond that.” Thome added, “We are considering our options challenging the judge’s decision.”
In her ruling, Montgomery also ordered the plaintiff’s co-counsel in the case, Philadelphia’s Levin, Fishbein, Sedran & Berman, to file an affidavit disclosing any of its possible contacts with Jane Doe or exposure to any materials or documents containing or describing disclosures made by Jane Doe. The judge also ordered Levin Fishbein to describe any discussions or written communication the firm had with any person, including counsel at the Halunen firm, concerning any of Jane Doe’s disclosures. Arnold Levin and Charles Schaffer, the Levin Fishbein attorneys working on the case, were not available for comment.
Target is represented by Jeffrey Wohl, of San Francisco office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. He was unavailable for comment. Also representing Target is Joseph Schmitt of Minneapolis-based Nilan Johnson Lewis. Schmitt declined to comment.
