If you're a well-paid corporate lawyer, don't ask your secretary to reimburse you for a minor dry-cleaning expense. And if you must demand the cash, do not put it in e-mail.
That's what apparently cost Richard Phillips his job in the swank London offices of the Baker & MacKenzie law firm.
"I went to the dry-cleaners at lunch and they said it would cost 4 (pounds) to remove the ketchup stains," Phillips, then a 36-year-old attorney, wrote in an e-mail bearing the Subject: line "Ketchup Trousers" to his secretary, Jenny Amner. He added that it would be "much appreciated" if she could hand over the cash that day.
Nine days later, Amner shot back: "I must apologise for not getting back to you straight away but due to my mother's sudden illness, death and funeral I have had more pressing issues than your 4 (pounds). I apologise for accidentally getting a few splashes of ketchup on your trousers. Obviously your financial need as a senior associate is greater than mine as a mere secretary."
She added: "Should you feel the urgent need for the 4 (pounds), it will be on my desk this afternoon." Not long after the exchange was reported in the British media, Phillips resigned, although a law firm representative asserted that he had planned to do so anyway.
Photo by Declan McCullagh/CNET News.com
