Kevin Stern got to know attorney Stephen L. Snyder while he was in college, parking the hugely successful attorney’s Rolls Royce while working as a valet at a country club. Stern worked his way up through Snyder’s firm, from clerk to associate, as Snyder pursued malpractice cases worth millions of dollars.

Stern and Snyder faced off in a courtroom Monday, with Stern appearing under immunity as a witness for the prosecution, testifying that his former boss asked him to destroy evidence.

“I didn’t know that was OK to do,” Stern said. Instead of deleting the evidence in question, he made multiple copies and went to a lawyer for advice.

Snyder, 77, is standing trial for attempted extortion, accused of demanding the University of Maryland Medical System pay him $25 million under the guise of a sham consulting contract, or he would expose what he believed were deep problems in the hospital’s organ transplant program.

Snyder, who is representing himself, maintains that he was simply being an aggressive lawyer and that a client wanted him to work for UMMS to reform its practices. Snyder is on tape saying he’d help keep those problems quiet, and that hospital officials could turn to him as little or as much as they saw fit.

Snyder said in court and to hospital officials that he consulted with ethics attorneys, in what he says is clear proof that he was trying to do things “on the straight and narrow.” Indeed, federal prosecutors initially cited that as a reason not to pursue the case, saying it showed no criminal intent, only to later obtain a grand jury indictment.

Stern testified that he took dictation from Snyder, worked as a go-between with the client, and helped display Snyder’s multimedia presentations to hospital officials. He said he had no input as to what Snyder was pursuing.

“I worked for you,” Stern told Snyder, after Snyder characterized them working together. “You were planning a consultancy, and I was working for you at the time.”

Stern left Snyder’s firm in early 2020 and started his own with another former Snyder associate.

The former mentor and mentee had tense exchanges during Snyder’s questioning.

“Would it be fair to say I helped get you into law school?” Snyder asked.

“Absolutely not,” Stern replied.

Snyder said he had sent a letter of recommendation; Stern countered that while Snyder had offered to, he didn’t actually send the letter until Stern had already been accepted.

“Did we get along?” Snyder asked next.

“At times, yes,” Stern said.

Stern also said he left the firm as Snyder was considering axing his salary and having him work on a contingency basis.

Monday’s proceedings also brought more strife between Snyder and U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, as Snyder struggled to ask clear questions and comply with Boardman’s orders. The morning session of testimony was frequently derailed with sustained objections and bench conferences due to Snyder’s questioning.

Snyder said Boardman was being too hard on him, and said she was not placing similar restrictions on the prosecutor.

“She doesn’t need the guardrails you need,” Boardman said.