‘I did not send the email’: Law firm HR boss responds to all-staff correspondence

The interim chief people officer at national law firm Slater and Gordon is taking legal action in the wake of an explosive all-staff email, purporting to be sent from her, and says a “cursory” look at the correspondence should make clear who the real sender is.

Last Friday (21 February), and as first reported by The Australian Financial Review, an email which BCC’d all staff at Slater and Gordon – purportedly sent by interim chief people officer Mari Ruiz-Matthyssen – contained, among other things, a spreadsheet revealing the salaries and performance ratings of over 900 staff at the national plaintiff firm, as well as allegations about supposed dysfunction in its workplace.

As has been widely reported, the email was sent from an external Gmail account, claiming to belong to Ruiz-Matthyssen, and purporting to be a handover document.

Over the weekend, Slater and Gordon chief executive Dina Tutungi said: “The malicious email that was sent to our employees on Friday by someone impersonating a staff member was an invasion of privacy, and I apologise to everyone affected by it.”

“The email was not sent by the interim chief people officer Mari Ruiz-Matthyssen,” she said.

“It contains many disparaging, false, and deliberately misleading claims. The information attached to the email, while unreliable, should never have been shared.”

Those comments echoed the remarks of a firm spokesperson late last week, who said that its interim chief people officer “is not the author or the sender of that email, nor is that email address attributed to her”.

HR Leader does not suggest that the allegations and opinions expressed in the email, and which have subsequently been reported, are true.

Slater and Gordon has referred the matter to Victoria Police, Tutungi added, through the Australian Cyber Security Centre. The spokesperson noted that the firm will “cooperate fully with any police action or investigation”.

In a statement issued on the evening of Monday 24 February, via BlackBay Lawyers – a Sydney-based, full-service practice which last year won the Boutique Law Firm of the Year category at the Australian Law Awards – Ruiz-Matthyssen spoke of the “immeasurable” damage and distress this incident has created.

“Since Friday morning, I have been wrongfully accused of sending a highly inappropriate email to Slater and Gordon staff and publicly vilified since that time,” she said.

“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.”

“I did not send the email,” Ruiz-Matthyssen continued.

“A cursory examination of the email and its attachment gave 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,” she concluded.

BlackBay did not indicate against which party, or parties, legal action would be taken.

Tutungi has also noted that Slater and Gordon is “fully committed” to supporting staff and complying with legal and regulatory obligations in this time, and “will not allow” this incident to distract from “the important work we do for our clients”.

“Our cyber incident response team has been stood up and a thorough forensic investigation is being conducted, supported by external specialists,” she said.

“We will have more to say when we know more.”

HR Leader has sought comment from Allegro Funds, which acquired the majority of shares in Slater and Gordon in 2023, resulting in the firm’s delisting from the ASX.

In December, the firm overwhelmingly voted in favour of an enterprise agreement with the Australian Services Union, through which more than 600 Slater and Gordon staff will be able to access significantly increased employee benefits.

A few months earlier, in July, it identified a payroll error in leave accrual, which it believes has resulted in a collective underpayment of at least $300,000 for around 100 of its current and former employees. As a result, the firm self-reported to the Fair Work Ombudsman.