According to a report from California-based publication The Recorder, several HP lawyers who worked on the Autonomy deal have already left the company.

High-profile fiascos

The report adds that HP has suffered greatly from a string of high-profile fiascos, including former chief executive Mark Hurd's departure after allegations of sexual harassment and the short lived tenure of his replacement in the top slot by Leo Apotheker, during which the technology giant’s share price tumbled by around 40 per cent. Despite being only 10 months in the hot seat, Mr Apotheker walked away with a $13 million golden good-bye.
HP general counsel John Schultz – who inherited the role in April – is now trying to rally a tired and frustrated department, according to the former HP lawyers, who also suggested some at the company are ‘afraid to hope for better’.

Share price

Daniel Cooperman, currently of counsel at Boston-based Bingham McCutchen, after serving as general counsel at Apple and Oracle, told the publication: ‘When you have various crises occurring in succession, any general counsel would be concerned about the morale in the department.’
An additional problem is HP’s dwindling share price – a key part of remuneration packages in the Silicon Valley. As the stock loses value, bonuses are squeezed and lawyers feel that they are working harder for less pay.
A source at the company told The Recorder: ‘What's getting lost in all the bad press is that you've got a lot of people that are working their asses off to try to make HP successful… It hurts our morale, and it hurts our ability to focus on what we're trying to do.’