Convicted PR Executive Sues Former Employer for Legal Fees

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Former executive of the PR firm Fleishman-Hillard (F-H) Doug Dowie, who was convicted in 2006 of overbilling the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and other clients, is suing his former employer to recover $3 million in legal fees. The LA Daily News reports that, in his statement of claim, Dowie argues that F-H had promised to pay all his legal bills but only covered them until he was indicted on federal charges in June 2005. "By then, (Dowie) had been fired from his job with Fleishman-Hillard, was impecunious and financially unable to engage new counsel," his lawsuit states. F-H senior partner Rich Jernstedt told (sub req'd) O'Dwyers PR Daily that the company stopped paying Dowie's legal fees "when we concluded it was no longer appropriate or required to do so." Dowie is scheduled to begin serving a 42-month prison sentence in March.