Are You Sure You Want To Give Your Assistant Access To Your E-mail?

You could get sued, although the lawyer in Medcalf v Walsh (SDNY, 9 April 2013) did manage to have the assistant's action against him and his wife dismissed. Valerie Medcalf worked for George Walsh, a lawyer, and had full access to his work e-mail account. Medcalf became pregnant and did not have a particularly easy time of it: she needed time off for numerous medical appointments, suffered severe post-partum depression, underwent psychiatric treatment and went on medical leave (all the while continuing to check her boss's e-mail and manage responses). In the course of doing that, she came across a series of e-mails between Walsh and his wife Evelyn, in which they expressed scepticism about the extent of Medcalf's illness, her need for medical leave and (on the strength of a baby picture Medcalf had circulated) her ability to keep herself and her child sufficiently clean. Incensed, Medcalf confronted Mrs Walsh, cc'ing her boss and bcc'ing her supervisors at the