Notorious legal eagle gossip site Firm Spy has had its account suspended, just days after Arnold Bloch Leibler called for it to remove a post for linking the leading law firm to pro-Hitler merchandise.
While the reasons are unclear for the website’s removal, ABL senior partner Mark Leibler told StartupSmart last Friday Firm Spy had implied the law firm “condones the distribution of pro-Hitler merchandise” because a post had associated them with the sale of the “Hipster Hitler” t-shirt on art retail site RedBubble.
Leibler was not asked whether he or his firm would take legal action against Firm Spy for the post.
The site is inaccessible this morning, however Google cache reveals the last story to be published on the site was in relation to a bullying allegation at the Brisbane office of a global law firm. Billing itself as a team of anonymous lawyers and bankers with a “common vision of sharing the finest legal and commercial news” and popular amongst the legal fraternity, Firm Spy specialises in publishing contentious memos, emails and gossip leaked from the big end of town.
In regards to inaccuracies or complaints, the mysterious administrators behind the site say they “aim to ensure that all the information we publish is accurate and current” and that they are happy to make corrections if any reports are inaccurate.
“Equally, if you disagree with our opinions or other aspects of our reportage, we’d be happy to publish your response or, if necessary, a correction,” the site says. “The last thing we’d want to do is defame anybody.”
Firm Spy did not respond by deadline to Crikey’s last minute request for comment
They made a lot of enemies. So many that, it could have been anyone maybe even the Russian Mafia who took them out in the end. However, I hope someone saved a cache of the FirmSpy thread from a few months ago that demolished Crikey’s sloppy journalism on the Allens conflict of interest story – that was priceless.
I have a lot of admiration for those guys taking on the big end in a fearless but mostly responsible way while having lot of fun doing it. They bravely went where others would not dare to go and they got a lot of comments and even more views from the legal community. So reading this news story and seeing the ‘suspended’ notice on their url is a bit like hearing the news “Superman is dead!” I hope that, just like in the story of Superman in the comic book, they return after a hiatus.
By far the most entertaining source of news and gossip on law firms in Australia. The creativity of their story telling was comic genius with the commentary of readers occasionally even better. I know of several retired judges who posted in stories under pseudonyms. It has been a unique forum for legal repartee.
Time to pass around the hat to get them back on line, though the people they have exposed in scoops would probably pay even more to get rid of them.
Say it aint so!! If FS didn’t exist, someone would have to invent it. Just too funny to have all those stiff corporate lawyers exposed to righteous ridicule.
They will be back. Bet on it.
I read it like a comic strip for the “BIF!” and the “BAM!” but even more because they were always on the side of right for the weak and the poor against the proud and the powerful. This is not the way the law always works but its the way it should work and FirmSpy made it seem so.