Law Firm Tosses Old Clients' Info Into Street Dumpsters

A lower Manhattan law firm is in hot water today after a Daily News reporter stumbled upon six dumpsters on the sidewalk behind their office piled with confidential documents. The files tossed out by Frenkel Lambert Weiss Weisman & Gordon mostly dated back to the 1990s and included addresses, medical records and Social Security numbers for clients. Passers-by were observed digging through the documents, and former clients of the law firm were appalled when the Daily News rang them up, using the personal information from the files. One 62-year-old woman who sued her landlord in 1997 was shocked to learn that her Social Security number, medical records and contact information were in the trash: "I don't let nobody have my Social Security number. Now I don't know who else has my papers. They should be held accountable. That's why they have shredders." A partner at the firm says the documents were discarded as they prepare to change offices, and blames the "licensed and bonded company" they hired to dispose of everything in a proper manner. Sounds like they went with the same company that tossed Citi Habitats clients' confidential documents out on the street in January.