Former Slater & Gordon executive Mari Ruiz-Matthysen is suing the law firm over an email breach that shook the company earlier this year, claiming she was unfairly left as the “public face” of the scandal. She also alleges the firm was aware a former payroll manager had a “criminal mind” and had tried to access internal data, but failed to take protective steps in light of these risks.
Ruiz-Matthysen’s lawsuit was filed in the Victorian Supreme Court, marking the latest development in a saga that began with a major data leak in February.
As reported by the Australian Financial Review on Friday, the former interim chief people officer alleges in her lawsuit that the firm breached a duty of care owed to her and was negligent in failing to take sufficient action to prevent the data leak. She says the fallout has seriously damaged her reputation and career, blaming the firm’s allegedly “woeful management” of the situation.
The email breach earlier this year contained sensitive information, like the supposed staff salaries and performance ratings of over 900 staff members, and even criticisms of key senior executives. It was purported to have been sent by a private account belonging to Ruiz-Matthysen, who has denied any involvement. The matter was quickly referred to Victoria Police.
The now infamous all-staff email was sent to more than 900 Slater & Gordon staffers. (Source: Google Maps)
It was later reported the metadata of the attached Excel salary spreadsheet identified “Bridgett” as the creator of the document.
Ruiz-Matthysen now alleges she was contacted by Slater & Gordon chief Dina Tutungi 15 minutes after the email was sent, questioning whether she had sent “a disgusting email”. She said she told Tutungi that she suspected former payroll manager Bridgett Maddox may have been behind it, given the language and content of the email.
Ruiz-Matthyssen was previously responsible for overseeing an investigation into Maddox, who was dismissed over the improper handling of a $200 gift voucher in November last year.
Ruiz-Matthyssen alleges she received a text message from Maddox days after the explosive email breach, which stated: “It brings me an amount of glee to see you being accused of something you most likely didn’t do, given what you did to me … I suggest – no actually I warn you – keep my name out of your mouth.”
According to the writ, she states she was only ever required to interact with Maddox “in relation to operational and personnel matters”, and had escalated the investigation about the gift voucher to Tutungi. She was then referred to the firm’s external counsel, Steve Palmer.
During the internal investigation, Palmer allegedly said: “Let’s just say Bridgett has a criminal mind … It’s best for you not to know”.
As reported by the Australian Financial Review, Maddox served two years in prison for stealing more than $300,000 from former employers when she was known as Bridgett Jones. She was convicted of defrauding a law firm in 2007 and in 2014, she received a suspended sentence for misusing four corporate credit cards while employed as an administration assistant.
Maddox was terminated from Slater & Gordon in early December 2024. She commenced legal action against the firm shortly after, alleging unlawful conduct by Ruiz-Matthyssen, as reported by The Australian.
In the writ, Ruiz-Matthyssen alleges the payroll data in the leaked emails “appeared current to November 2024” which was when Maddox still had access to the firm’s remuneration systems.
She also alleges the firm became aware that Maddox had attempted to access internal systems the day after she was suspended last year. Following an inquiry, the firm’s chief information officer reported internally that “it could not be confirmed whether Maddox had uploaded confidential data”, but that the firm had previously identified the relevant platforms as a cyber risk.
A Slater & Gordon spokesperson said the firm “has made clear in its public statements on this matter that Ms Ruiz-Matthyssen was not the author or sender of this malicious email”.
“As this matter is before the courts, it’s not appropriate to comment further,” the spokesperson said.
In March, the firm said it had referred a former staffer — whom it did not name — to police, whom it suspected was responsible for the pay leak and email.
Maddox has previously denied involvement in the email scandal and said the “real story” was “corruption” and the law firm and the “covering up” of a historical underpayment, per the Australian Financial Review.
PEDESTRIAN.TV is not suggesting Maddox is the person responsible for authoring and distributing the emails.
Lead image: AAP
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