A recent WSJ Law Blog post, “Ex-Goldman Programmer Seeks Legal Fees from Investment Bank,” reports that a one-time Goldman Sachs computer programmer, Sergey Aleynikov, sued his former employer for attorney fees and expenses.  Aleynikov was charged in August with two felony counts by the Manhattan district attorney’s office related to his taking of the proprietary codes.  His conviction was later overturned by a federal appeals court in February.

The suit, filed in New Jersey federal court against Goldman, seeks $2.38 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses for his prior criminal case and the advancement of legal fees for his current case.  In the lawsuit, Kevin Marino, Mr. Aleynikov’s lawyer, said his client is entitled to have legal fees paid by Goldman because he was an officer of the company at the time of the alleged incident.

“Aleynikov exhausted his financial resources prior to his trial on the federal charges and owes a substantial sum of legal fees and expenses he incurred in his successful defense of those charges in the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals,” Mr. Mario said in complaint.  “Thus, unless the court orders Goldman Sachs to honor its legal obligation to advance his legal fees and expenses to defend the State Charges, Aleynikov’s ability to defend those charges will be irreparably harmed.”