Depends on which "prestigious organization" it was and how convincingly the defense lawyer could frame it as a David vs Goliath situation, rather than straight-up blackmail.
When you do business, understand money makes everyone into a sociopath. So you are dealing with a sociopath. A sociopath that has the law on his or her side. Remember this well. Don't trust sociopaths, and don't trust anyone that you do business with to hold up their end of the deal if they can get away with it. Start with this and you'll limit your exposure. They will still screw you now and then, but you limit the amount of damage they can do to you.
