They had been spying on me. The boss at the former job was a serious narcissist, and couldn't keep staff I had found out. He even learned where I was jumping jobs too, and drove down and met with my now law partner to try to get info from him under the guise of talking shop. He either listened in on phone calls of other employees or had 1 person do it for him. This had been confirmed before I left. So many people quit because of what was happening and looked for a way out. It was pretty crazy, and very emotionally draining. I was really well paid and took a cut to leave, but made it up in time.

Been 15+ years now, and so long it's well in the past. Learned a lot at the job, so some plusses, but great to move on.