'Karma's a Bitch': Law Firm Partner's Text to Female Attorney Goes Viral, Costs Him His Job

An Ohio law firm fired one of its partners after a text message he sent chastising a former employee who resigned following maternity leave made the rounds on social media and even inspired a local bar association to host an ethics forum.

Zashin & Rich, a family law firm with locations in Cleveland and Columbus, fired longtime partner Jon Dileno earlier this week amid public backlash.

The text went viral Monday after Ashley Herd, owner of ManagerMethod, a company that offers training and tools for managers, posted a screenshot of the message on Twitter. In the text, Dileno told the employee that he had “suspicions” she was interviewing for a different job while on leave and said he urged one of the firm’s co-managing partners to “cut [her] loose” but “he was too nice of a guy to do so.”

“What you did—collecting salary from the firm while sitting on your ass, except to find time to interview for another job—says everything one needs to know about your character,” the text read. “Karma’s a bitch. Rest assured regarding anyone who inquires, they will hear the truth from me about what a soul-less and morally bankrupt person you are.”

In response, Zashin & Rich co-managing partner Stephen Zashin released a statement on LinkedIn in which he wrote that Dileno’s text was “sent in the heat of the moment by an employee upset by the belief that the former colleague while on paid leave sought employment with another law firm.”

“Within days of her return to work, she took that new job,” Zashin said. “That’s not an excuse for the offending text, which should not have been sent. That single text prompted some to question our commitment to fair treatment, diversity and other values that our firm holds dear and believes in fervently.”

Zashin also stated that he stands by the firm’s record of treating their employees, while pledging to take collective action and look at “what may need to change” with the firm’s culture.

“While we cannot undo the past, we can change the future,” he wrote. “We are committed to turning this negative into a positive.”

But Herd slammed the firm’s response and dozens of others joined in.

“You may believe in values to the moon and back, but ‘single texts’ (that likely aren’t isolated ways of speaking) speak values,” Herd wrote on Twitter as part of the thread that began with the initial screenshot of Dileno’s text.

“I imagine other attorneys on paid salary will likewise be considering employment with other law firms,” she added in another tweet.

Zashin released an updated statement Tuesday evening on LinkedIn formally apologizing to the former employee and announcing that Dileno was let go.

The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association caught wind of the incident after member Kelly Barnett posted on LinkedIn about what she called the “unpleasant truth about law firm culture” in which she shared Dileno’s text.

“There is no universe in which this kind of behavior (in writing or not) should be acceptable,” she wrote. “Law firms, and the lawyers within law firms, should not be sovereign entities where deplorable behavior like this goes unchallenged.”

The CMBA released a statement offering support for the woman who received the text, and announced that the organization would hold a free “Hot Talk” during which experts will discuss legal and ethical issues related to the incident.

The event is scheduled for Jan. 17 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.