Mark Owen, a retired Navy Seal and author of a 2012 bestseller titled “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden,” filed a malpractice suit against his former lawyer Kevin Podlaski.
According to the complaint, the lawyer advised Owen that he had “no obligation to submit the Book to the Department of Defense or any other agency for a pre-publication review.” Owen also alleged Podlaski claimed to have special expertise in dealing with military law and special operations issues.” Owen further alleged that Podlaski failed to identify any nondisclosure agreements that someone in Owen’s position would likely have signed with the U.S. Government and thus failed to inform him about what can or cannot be disclosed. Owen argued Podlaski’s bad advice
“put [him] into a conflict with the U.S. Government that he could not win.”
One retired Army colonel commented that
“[w]hen you get that security clearance it clearly states, ‘You cannot share this information.’ We are vetted, we’re investigated, the United States has said, ‘We’re going to give you information. We’re going to trust you with that information and it’s understood that you don’t share that information.’”
Representing Owen in the suit, Robert Shannon stated that Owen
“was given that advice and that’s the part that I deny on behalf of my client that he was given bad advice and the advice was given regarding [Owen’s]intent to get the book out.”
Owen estimated that he will lose more than $8 million in lost revenue and future earnings due to the criminal investigation by the Department of Defense.