A New York district court judge last month disqualified a firm representing hundreds of 401(k) plan participants based on a conflict of interest. The judge called the risks posed “endless,” and requested additional briefing on whether the firm would be allowed to remain as counsel in related arbitration proceedings in Missouri. The ruling spotlights the
Take stock instead of legal fees? Take a hard look and mind the ethics rules
One market effect of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is that transactional clients might be eager to offer you stock or some other form of participation in a deal in lieu of your legal fees. An uptick in proposals like this could come as clients try to limit cash outlays until the business climate and their
Can a law firm be on both sides as an amicus curiae? New York weighs in
It’s been dubbed “the Amicus Machine” — the seemingly limitless wave of amicus curiae filings in the nation’s highest court. Statistics from the Supreme Court’s 2017-18 term reflect amicus briefs filed in every one of the 63 argued cases, averaging 14+ briefs per case. For the current term, it is reported that groups have already
PA court disqualifies Drinker Biddle in pharma company ownership dispute
A Pennsylvania state court judge disqualified Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP earlier this month from appearing for either defendant in a shareholder dispute involving a Philadelphia LLC that provides services to pharmaceutical companies. The opinion spotlights the conflict issues that can come up when representing an entity and its controlling member against a claimed minority
Conducting third-party discovery against a current client? Tread carefully
What if you’re about to initiate litigation on behalf of your client, or you are in the middle of litigation, and you find that a different client you represent in another matter has documents relevant to the case? Can you subpoena the documents from your own client? Can you cross-examine that client at trial? Here
One potato, two potato; hot potato brings DQ in Mississippi federal case
Even though a Mississippi lawyer’s conflict of interest lasted only one day, that was enough for a U.S. magistrate judge to disqualify him from representing a client adverse to Allstate Insurance Co. on a coverage claim, in a ruling issued last week. Sending a termination letter to the insurer the day after accepting the new
Batting clean-up on 2016: positional conflicts, settlements and your firm letterhead
You may have some holiday leftovers lurking in your fridge (potato latkes, Xmas goose, black-eyed peas, New Year’s Eve caviar), and we too have some interesting ethics topics that we didn’t have room for during 2016 — so here’s a potpourri, touching on positional conflicts, coercive settlements and maybe how not to use your firm’s