Firm Fined For Doctoring Discovery Docs

Fox Rothschild must pay a $25,000 sanction for altering discovery documents in a counterfeiting lawsuit. The firm successfully represented Chinese clothing retailers accused of counterfeiting copyrighted jean designs. But in a March 28 order, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee said Fox Rothschild lawyers altered invoice information to reflect only the amounts related to clothing at issue in the lawsuit. “In this case, defendants’ counsel altered at least some of the documents produced in a manner that obfuscated the true meaning of the information provided,” Gee wrote. “While defendants’ counsel equivocate regarding which lawyer did the altering or redacting, it is undisputed that defendants themselves did not alter any of the documents, and that the changes took place in the discovery process.”