Because the lawsuit would include you, the defendant, personally, and not just your shell company? I don't know if this would work, having never had to do it,

Because the lawsuit would include you, the defendant, personally, and not just your shell company? I don't know if this would work, having never had to do it, and it's extremely unlikely that I ever will, but then I'd hire someone to put severe pressure on decision-makers at the plantiff and make it very clear that they don't want to dance this way. Hiring a "pro negotiator" of this sort is expensive, but cheaper than losing a company, a livelihood, and having future wages garnished. When legal action becomes unaffordable and favors the rich, people will resort to illegal action. And I don't fear death enough that I'd let someone disrespect me in such a way without taking his own fall. [quick legal advice: if a trick sounds too easy, it probably won't hold in court] This I doubt, given that the vast majority of white-collar crime never leads to an indictment, and the penalties are so minor relative to the rewards that it persists in spades. (This is not to say I'd advise white-collar crime, the vast majority of which is utterly unethical and dishonorable scumbaggery. I'm only saying that the vast majority of criminals in our society get away with it.)