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Law Firms Associate uploaded over 7,900 documents to external Dropbox before quitting, Littler alleges

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 23, 2023, 3:44 pm CDT

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Littler Mendelson has obtained a protective order shielding sensitive information after accusing a “disgruntled” associate of uploading more than 7,900 documents to an external Dropbox in February.

In its March 3 amended petition, Littler said associate Uliana Kozeychuk uploaded the material before quitting her job Feb. 23. A March 17 protective order said any information on Littler clients is deemed to be confidential, unless it is publicly available.

Bloomberg Law has the story.

Kozeychuk has said the uploaded documents are personal in nature, but Littler said it has determined that the documents included client information and Littler documents that do not belong to Kozeychuk.

According to Bloomberg Law, Kozeychuk “has launched a blistering social media response” to Littler’s allegations. Her Twitter account includes the hashtag “#TimesUpLittler.” On LinkedIn, she pledges to “drain [the] Littler swamp.”

Kozeychuk told Bloomberg Law that she is being targeted for complaining about “abuse” by Littler partners.

“They know that I didn’t take any documents and they did it as a smear campaign to silence me and make sure that nobody believes me when I finally get around to speaking about them,” Kozeychuk told the publication.

Littler’s amended petition said Kozeychuk made allegations against various Littler shareholders in November 2022. The law firm investigated “and determined that there were no facts supporting them,” its petition said.

Uliana Kozeychuk is an attorney who previously advised clients on Russian employment law issues for the international law firm Littler Mendelson.

Kozeychuk had uploaded the documents while she was on leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, according to allegations cited by Bloomberg Law.

Littler general counsel George Wood first confronted Kozeychuk about a download of more than 3,100 documents in a Feb. 19 email, the firm said in its petition. After receiving the email, Kozeychuk uploaded the 7,900-plus documents to the Dropbox, the firm said. Littler placed Kozeychuk on unpaid leave Feb. 21 and demanded return of the information.

She refused Feb. 23, according to the Littler petition.

According to Littler, she responded this way: “Let me make something clear. Absent a court order regarding the same, I will not be providing Littler IT department or anyone else with my private account login info and access to my private files stored there. I have years’ worth of private photos and documents in there, among other things, that I do not wish to have anyone to peruse and to violate my privacy rights based on some false and defamatory accusation. Go to court, prove that I did anything wrong, get a court order, and I’ll be happy to comply then. We both know this will never happen.”

Past ABA Journal coverage of Kozeychuk said she advised clients on Russian employment law issues.

Littler provided a statement to Bloomberg Law that said Kozeychuk has “chosen to publicly discuss grievances against the firm, including allegations that were investigated during her time at Littler and found to have no factual support.”

“Her actions are unfortunate, but we continue to focus on her improper conduct and are taking all necessary steps to assure both client and firm documents are protected,” the statement said.

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