Ah, the joys of the ad hominem attack—the favorite of guilty defendants everywhere. Or, to put it another way: When the facts are against you, argue the law; when the law and the facts are against you, pound on the table. I think PA's staff will be eating off the floor until they can get some new (figurative) furniture.
PS Guys, before you claim that your contract says something, try reading your own *)&^*@)^)! contract. It doesn't say what you claim it does—in fact, it says exactly the opposite. And what it implies that you let a "junior staff member" respond to a lawyer's communication—and not to that lawyer—is more enlightening than you might wish.