The outgoing chief people officer at law firm Slater and Gordon has said she’ll be taking legal action after a hoax email — purportedly sent by her — went out last week that contained sensitive information such as supposed staff salaries and performance ratings.
As reported by the Australian Financial Review, the email reportedly hit staff inboxes on Friday. It appeared to be sent from a personal email address bearing the name of outgoing executive Mari Ruiz-Matthyssen and looked like part of a larger email chain that appears to include a Slater and Gordon work email address.
Over the weekend, Slater and Gordon chief executive Dina Tutungi explained the “malicious” email was sent by someone impersonating a staff member, with a preliminary investigation on Monday suggesting this was a “lone wolf” incident rather than part of a co-ordinated cyberattack.
In a statement on Monday evening, Ruiz-Matthyssen broke her silence on the issue, emphasising she’s been wrongfully accused of sending a “highly inappropriate” email to staff and has been publicly vilified since that time.
The law firm has referred the matter to Victoria Police through the Australian Cyber Security Centre (Image source: Google Maps)
“The manner in which this matter has been handled over the past four days has caused immeasurable damage and distress to me personally and professionally, as well as to my family,” she said, per the Australian Financial Review.
“I did not send the email. A cursory examination of the email and its attachment [gives] a clear indication as to the likely identity of the sender.
“I have engaged lawyers and I am in the process of taking legal action.”
Ruiz-Matthyssen did not specify which party or parties she would aim the legal action against.
It’s understood staff were told at an emergency meeting this week the investigation is focusing on whether the email was sent by one or more former employees or a combination of current and former employees.
The law firm has also been forced to set up a formal process for staff to raise pay concerns after they were able to compare the salaries and packages of the firm’s over 900 employees outlined in the email, as reported by The Australian.
The email and its attachments is believed to have been widely circulated in legal circles across the country. (Image source: Google Maps)
A spokesperson previously said the email in many ways is “a work of fiction”, with incorrect internal information as well as disparaging remarks about individuals.
Among the many startling claims, the email criticised CEO Tutungi, private equity firm Allegro Funds — which acquired the majority of shares of Slater and Gordon back in 2023 — and described the law firm as a “textbook case of dysfunction”.
PEDESTRIAN.TV does not suggest the claims outlined in the emails are true.
Lead image: AAP Photos / LinkedIn
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