Changing Firms - Screening - Part I
Home/Table of ContentsChanging Firms - Screening - Part IINote: this page (“Part I”) covers states through New Mexico. New York to the end appears at the page denominated “Part II.”
LawyersScenario: Lawyer changes law firms while those firms have a matter pending between them. While at the old firm, Lawyer may or may not have had some contact with that matter. Lawyer’s presence at the new firm may disqualify the entire new firm in that matter. Usually, the consent of the client of the old firm will avoid that result. What if the client will not consent? Will a "Chinese Wall" or screen at the new firm avoid disqualification absent consent? What if the person changing firms is a non-lawyer, such as a paralegal or secretary? Those are the issues addressed on a state-by-state basis below.
Several general comments are in order. In most states we say that, as to lawyers, the screen, without consent, will "probably not" work. That is because those states did not provide for screens for lawyers moving from one private law firm to another. In those several states with the original Model Rule 1.9(b), where a court has addressed the issue, the court has almost always ruled that the rule means what it says. That rule does not require a screen if the information is not "material."
Enter Restatement § 124. It does not allow a screen where the information is significant, but does not, like Model Rule 1.9(b), stop there. If the lawyer has information that is not "significant," the Restatement requires a screen. Note, the Model Rule does not require a screen if the moving lawyer's knowledge is not "material to the matter." (We are not aware of anything in the literature that makes a distinction between "significant" and "material.") Several states have started down the Restatement path. As you will see below, Minnesota has adopted a rule similar to the Restatement's. The New York Court of Appeals has adopted a similar rule in a decision.
In doing research for this section, we had the good fortune to come across
Ohio's New Ethical Screening Procedure, by Burkhart R. Lindahl, 31 U. Toledo L. Rev. 145 (Fall 1999). The article was precipitated by the
Kala decision of the Ohio Supreme Court (see Ohio below). Nevertheless, it is one of the clearest and most comprehensive discussions of screening in the United States that the we have encountered in the years we have considered this subject.
I
s Exchange of Information Protected by Rule 1.6? ABA Op. 09-455 (Oct. 8, 2009). In this thoughtful opinion the Committee reconciles the duty to protect client information with the duty of law firms involved in the move of a lawyer from one firm to another to identify and resolve conflicts of interest. The Committee concludes that the exchange of client information is necessary but that the amount and use of the information should be limited and that the timing of the exercise should be appropriate.
Other Articles.
John Sahl, Thinking of Leaving? The Ethics of Departing One Firm for Another, 19 (Issue 1) Professional Lawyer 2 (2008); Comment,
The Use of Screens to Cure Imputed Conflicts of Interest: Why the American Bar Association’s Failure to Allow Screening Undermines the Integrity of the Legal Profession, 35 U. Balt. L. Rev. 367 (2006); Paul R. Tremblay,
Migrating Lawyers and the Ethics of Conflict Checking, 19 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 489 (2006) ; John T. Hungerford,
Working with what We've got: Toward a Modern Approach to Ethical Screens, 18 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 823 (2005); Susan P. Shapiro, If it
Ain’t Broke . . . An Empirical Perspective on Ethics 2000, Screening, and the Conflict-of-Interest Rules, 2003 U. Ill. L. Rev. 1299 (2003); Sondra Grifford,
Burying the Hatchet: Do Tennessee’s New Screening Rules Leave the Clinard Handle Sticking Out?, 70 Tenn. L. Rev. 201 (2002) ; Luke W. Hunt, Case Note,
Legal Ethics - Attorney Conflicts of Interest - the Effect of Screening Procedures and the Appearance of Impropriety Standard on the Vicarious Disqualification of a Law Firm, 70 Tenn. L. Rev. 251 (2002); Burton,
Migratory Lawyers and Imputed Conflicts of Interest, 16 Rev. Lit. 665 (1997); Hamilton and Coan,
Are We a Profession or Merely a Business?: The Erosion of the Conflicts Rules Through the Increased Use of Ethical Walls, 27 Hofstra L. Rev. 27 (1998); M. Peter Moser,
Chinese Walls: A Means of Avoiding Law Firm Disqualification When a Personally Disqualified Lawyer Joins the Firm, 3 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 399 (Winter 1990); Erik Wittman,
A Discussion of Nonconsensual Screens as the ABA Votes to Amend Model Rule 1.10, 22 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 1211 (2009).
Treatises. Hazard, Hodes, & Jarvis §§ 14.8-14.11; Rotunda & Dzienkowski §§ 1.10-2 to 1.10-4.
Canada(moved to end of Part II)
Non-LawyersAs shown below, most state courts and ethics committees that have considered this issue as to non-lawyers have given non-lawyers more slack and have approved screening. So did ABA Informal Op. 1526 (1988). Restatement § 123, cmt. f says that non-lawyers are not subject to the imputation rule governing lawyers and recommends screening. Caution is advised because a couple of older opinions were not so liberal.
See, for example, Zimmerman v. Mahaska Bottling Co., 19 P.3d 784 (Kan. 2001) (no screening absent consent). Below, where we are not aware of an opinion on non-lawyers in a given jurisdiction, we will not state a view as to whether approval of a screen is "probable," although the trend is strongly in favor of non-consensual screens for non-lawyers.
Law Clerk. OneBeacon Ins. Co. v. T. Wade Welch & Assoc., 2012 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 14663 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 6, 2012). In this opinion the court denied
a motion to disqualify solely on a fact-specific
substantial-relationship analysis. One interesting piece of dicta was
that where the moving lawyer was only a law clerk at the "old" firm, for
disqualification purposes he would be treated as a lawyer at both the
"old" firm as well as the "new" firm. Thus, the need to do the
substantial-relationship analysis.
Model Rules. See Comment [4] to Rule 1.10 and Comment [1] to Rule 5.3.
Law Reviews.
Natalie
Chalmers, "
Zimmerman v. Mahaska
Bottling Co. : Kansas's Tactical Disqualification Weapon," 15
Kan. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 369 (Winter 2006); Cecile C. Edwards,
Law Firm
Disqualification and Nonlawyer Employees: A Proposal for a Consistent
Analysis, 26 Miss. C. L. Rev. 163 (2006–2007); Peter H. Geraghty and Susan J. Michmerhuizen,
Screen Nonlawyer Employees For Conflicts of Interest, American Bar Association, Your ABA, June 2012 e-newsletter.
Treatise. Rotunda & Dzienkowski § 11-4.
Elements of a “Good” Screen
We have been reading screening cases for the past twenty-five years and writing about them at this site for the past fifteen years. Following are steps that must be considered in erecting a screen. We cannot guarantee that following all the itemized steps will be enough. Courts generally have great discretion in these matters. This discussion is limited to situations where lawyers change firms. We will call the lateral’s initial firm “old firm” and the receiving firm “new firm.” We will refer to the matter that is the source of concern as “The Matter.”
Do not forget, some jurisdictions will not recognize a screen under any circumstances.
1. The new firm should erect the screen immediately upon learning of the need for one. In many cases, if the new firm has done a good job of conflict checking, it will know of the need for the screen well before the lateral arrives. In those cases the screen must be in place by the time the lateral arrives. In cases where the conflict was not detected, the new firm must scramble to get the screen in place. In may be too late. Some courts have rejected screens where the delay was several days.
2. The new firm should have the lateral sign an undertaking that she will not discuss or share with others in the new firm any information about The Matter.
3. The new firm should circulate a memorandum - possibly every six months or a year - to all lawyers and staff warning of communications with the lateral about The Matter. A few courts have said there should be a threat of termination for violations.
4. Calculate the lateral’s compensation so that she does not benefit from The Matter. (Example: applying the lateral’s shares (percentage) to total firm income after deducting the fees for The Matter.)
5. Program the firm’s document management software to limit lateral’s access to The Matter.
6. If possible, put the lateral on a different floor from the team handling The Matter. If feasible, assign the lateral to a different office entirely from the team handling The Matter. (Examples: downtown Los Angeles vs. Century City; downtown San Francisco vs. Palo Alto; NYC vs. Stamford).
Few, if any, courts have combined all the above requirements in one opinion, but we have seen them all in one case or another. What a checklist can’t help is whether the receiving firm is just too small for a screen to be deemed effective. That issue should be part of the hiring decision.
SummaryAgain, the issue posed below is whether a screen or "Chinese Wall" will prevent a disqualification where the second firm does not have a consent from the client of the first firm.
AlabamaLawyers - Probably not. Rule1.10(b). See also Roberts v. Hutchins, 572 So. 2d 1231 (Ala. 1990).
Not a Screening Case. Ex Parte Utils. Bd. of the City of Tuskegee v. Advanced Disposal Servs. S., LLC,
2018 WL 4656614 (Ala. Sept. 28, 2018). Water pollution case. One of the
defendants, Local Utility, hired Law Firm to defend it. At Law Firm
Lawyer did minimum work on the case. While at Law Firm Lawyer served on
the board of State Environmental Agency. When a party alleged Lawyer had
a conflict, Lawyer withdrew from this case and left Law Firm. Plaintiff
moved to disqualify Law Firm. The trial court granted the motion. In
this opinion the Alabama Supreme Court reversed (granted mandamus). The
analysis was very fact-intensive and of questionable precedential value.
In addition, the court dwelt upon unique aspects of Alabama law and the
unique roles of Alabama state agencies. Alabama's version of M.R. 1.11
was a focus of the opinion.
Non-Lawyers - Probably not - Ala. Op. RO-02-01 (2002).
AlaskaLawyers - No. Rule 1.9(b);
Richard B. v. State, 71 P.3d 811 (Alaska 2003).
ArizonaLawyers - Rule 1.10(d) adopted in 2003 contains a relatively liberal screening rule, effectively reversing
Towne Development of Chandler, Inc. v. Superior Court, 842 P.2d 1377 (Ariz. App. 1992). In
Eberle Design, Inc. v. Reno A & E, 354 F. Supp. 2d 1093 (D. Ariz. 2005), the court ruled that the new rule means what it says. Lawyer went from Firm A (plaintiffs’ firm) to Firm B (defendant’s firm). During a telephone conference with the judge Firm B asked for the court’s “guidance” as to whether Lawyer will cause Firm B to be disqualified. The court said that Firm B would not be disqualified as long as Firm B screens Lawyer from this case. Arizona’s version of Model Rule 1.10 says a screen will work if the moving lawyer did not have a “substantial role” in the case while at his old firm. The court here said that billing nine hours on the case preparing voir dire questions was not a substantial role.
In
Roosevelt Irrig. Dist. v. Salt River Agricultural Improvement & Power Dist., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96162 (D. Ariz. Aug. 26, 2011), the court applied Arizona Rule 1.10(d) according its terms, in a CERCLA case. “Substantial role” was an issue. The court also held that screening would not help a firm avoid disqualification in the case of a lawyer who had not changed firms.
Ariz. Op. No. 04-04 (June 2004) holds that a public defender office cannot create a separate unit to avoid conflicts. Screening will not work in that context.
Non-Lawyers - Probably.
Smart Industries Corp. v. Superior Court, 876 P.2d 1176 (Ariz. App. 1994).
ArkansasLawyers - Probably not. Rules 1.9(b) and 1.10(a).
See also Burnette v. Morgan, 794 S.W.2d 145 (Ark. 1990).
The Park Apartments at Fayetteville, LP v. Plants,
2018 Ark. 172 (Ark. May 17, 2018). Plaintiff, in 2015, represented by
Legal Aid, brought this action against Housing Corp. and Mgmt. Co.
challenging the liquidated damages in her lease. Lawyer worked at Legal
Aid during the second half of 2016, in the economic justice workgroup.
The Legal Aid lawyers representing Plaintiff work in the housing
workgroup. In January 2017 Lawyer joined the legal staff of Mgmt. Co. In
February 2017 Plaintiff moved to disqualify the defendants' entire
legal staff. The trial court granted the motion. In this opinion the
Arkansas Supreme Court reversed. The evidence was that Lawyer did not
acquire any knowledge about this case while at Legal Aid. The Supreme
Court held that mere "access" to information about this case was not
disqualifying. One justice dissented and said mere access should be
disqualifying. There was no discussion of screening, although one could
infer that Lawyer is not working on this case for defendants.
Lineberry v. Riley Farm Property Owners Assoc., 2005 Ark. App. LEXIS 804 (Ark. App. Nov. 9, 2005). The majority opinion was ordered not published, and it is not available online. From the dissent we gather that a lawyer who had represented Lineberry early in this litigation joined Riley’s law firm. Riley moved the appellate court to declare that its firm did not have a conflict, or in the alternative, to grant Riley’s firm leave to withdraw. Evidently, the majority ruled that it had no jurisdiction to declare whether there was a conflict, but it did grant leave for Riley’s firm to withdraw. Unfortunately, without the majority opinion, one cannot make much sense of any of this.
Non-Lawyers - Probably.
Herron v. Jones, 637 S.W.2d 569 (Ark. 1982).
CaliforniaLawyers - State Courts - Probably. Effective November 1, 2018, California has a screening rule, Rule 1.10(a)(2). It includes a provision requiring notice to the other side, nearly identical to that in ABA Model Rule 1.10(a)(2)(ii). It also provides that a screen will not be effective if the lawyer in question had been "substantially" involved in the case at the prior firm. Several other states have that prohibition. For several years, the leading California case on this subject was Kirk v. First Am. Title Ins. Co., 183 Cal. App. 4th 776 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010). Several aspects of Kirk prevented it from being definitive: It was not a California Supreme Court opinion; and, the facts did not fit the classic migratory lawyer pattern. We are keeping the following discussion of older authorities intact because there may be cases in the pipeline whose facts preceded the new rule. Plus, some of the history may be helpful in interpreting the new rule. Cal. Op. No. 2021-1 (Feb. 11, 2021) helps explain screening in California, including situations involving California Rule 1.10.
Sierra v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No.
22-cv-01444-JSW (N.D. Cal. Sept. 23, 2022). Firm B filed this fall-down
case against Costco in July 2021. Lawyer, who had represented Costco in
fall-down cases from 2017 until 2020 at Firm A, joined Firm B
presumably before this case was filed (opinion does not specify date
Lawyer joined Firm B). At Firm A Lawyer handled all aspects of his
Costco cases. Lawyer is not counsel of record for Costco at Firm B.
Nevertheless, Costco has moved to disqualify Firm B. In this opinion the
court granted the motion. The court noted that Firm B had tendered no
information about erecting a screen when this case was taken or filed.
The only revelation by Firm B was that it had started using screening
software in December 2021, five months after this suit was filed. During
that five months Lawyer could have accessed this file. Thus, Firm B was
out for lack of an adequate screen.
Victaulic Co. v. Am. Home Assur. Co., No A163396 (Cal. App. 1st Dist. June 28, 2022). A screen was a side-show in this case. The relevant piece is that the court approved a screen that was set up orally at the time of hiring but not put in writing until a month or so later
California Self-Insurers' Security Fund v. Superior Court, 2018
WL 561707 (Cal. App. Jan. 26, 2018). In this case Fund is seeking
reimbursement from 304 members of the Fund. Lawyer worked on this case
while at the law firm ("Firm 1") representing several defendants. In
early February 2017 Lawyer left Firm 1 and joined Firm 2, while Firm 2
was representing Fund in this case. Lawyer was in an office of Firm 2
that was not the office handling the Fund's case. When Firm 2 learned of
this situation in early March 2017, Firm 2 and Lawyer promptly "parted
ways." Nevertheless, the involved defendants moved to disqualify Firm 2.
The trial court granted the motion saying that disqualification was
automatic and that a screen would not work. In this opinion the
appellate court granted a petition for writ of mandate and remanded the
case for the trial court to determine whether "all relevant facts and
circumstances" warrant disqualification. The court did say that if Lawyer had remained at Firm 2, Firm 2 would have been disqualified.
Other authority.
Klein v. Superior Court, 244 Cal. Rptr. 226 (1988), and
Henriksen v. Great American Savings & Loan, 14 Cal. Rptr. 2d 184 (Cal. App. 1992), have been cited as discouraging screening as a way to avoid disqualification. In
Applied Concepts, Inc. v. Superior Court, 2002 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 603 (Cal. App. April 30, 2002), a screen was erected, but the court ignored it and disqualified the moving lawyer's new law firm. L.A. County Op. 501 (1999) contains a lengthy discussion of imputation in California, but it does not discuss screening. See Gibbon-White, Migratory Lawyers in Private Practice: Should California Approve the Use of Ethical Walls?, Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 161 (1999).
Another case involving a firm too small to support a screen is
Thomas v. Howard, 2006 Cal. App. Unpub. (Cal. App. Nov. 7, 2006).
City and County of San Francisco v. Cobra Solutions, Inc., 43 Cal. Rptr. 3d 771 (Cal. 2006). The court held that when a private lawyer for the other side becomes head of a city’s law department, a screen will not prevent the whole department from being disqualified. The California Supreme Court dealt with screening in the context of governmental units in
In re Charisse C., 2008 Cal. LEXIS 1236 (Cal. Oct. 30, 2008).
Not a screening case, but important nonetheless. Adams v. Aerojet-General Corp., 104 Cal. Rptr. 2d 116 (Cal. App. 2001). Firm A represented Corporation in environmental matters. Lawyer X was a partner in Firm A but did no work on Corporation's matters. Lawyer X moved to Firm B and attempted to sue Corporation on environmental matters. Corporation moved to disqualify Lawyer X, and the trial court granted the motion. The appellate court reversed and remanded. The appellate court purported to answer this issue for the first time: Were Corporation's confidences in Firm A automatically imputed to Lawyer X, so that Lawyer X cannot sue Corporation on environmental matters? The appellate court said no, citing ABA Model Rule 1.9 and Restatement § 124. In remanding the case, the appellate court said:
On remand, the court should focus not only on the relationship between [Lawyer X] and [Firm A's] representation of [Corporation], but whether [Lawyer X's] responsibilities as partner and principal, as well as his relationship with other members of [Firm A], placed him in a position where he was reasonably likely to have obtained confidential information relating to the current case.?
Follows Adams v. Aeorjet. MasterObjects, Inc. v. Amazon.com Inc., No. C 20-08103 WHA (N.D. Cal. June 13, 2022);
Loop AI Labs Inc. v. Gatti, 2016 WL 344874 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 28, 2016).
Ochoa v. Fordel, Inc., 53 Cal. Rptr. 3d 277 (Cal. App. 2007), involved a lawyer who changed firms. Screening was not an issue. What the lawyer knew about a case pending between his old firm and his new firm was an issue. The court held that only his "actual knowledge" was the issue. The fact that the lawyer had "access" to the information at the old firm was not enough to disqualify the new firm.
The following are similar to
Aerojet and
Ochoa, above:
Goldberg v. Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., 23 Cal. Rptr. 3d 116 (Cal. App. 2005), and
Umbrasas v. Amgen, Inc., 2007 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 6858 (Cal. App. Aug. 23, 2007) (relying on
Aerojet). Distinguishing
Aerojet and
Ochoa is
Kim v. Superior Court, 2010 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 152 (Cal. App. Jan. 11, 2010).
In re Zamer, 62 Cal. Rptr. 3d 704 (Cal. App. 2007). The Children’s Law Center is a not-for-profit organization that represents certain children in juvenile court proceedings. The Center was organized into separate screened units to represent siblings who might have conflicts of interest. In this opinion the appellate court held that the screens would prevent disqualification.
Sahlobei v. Montgomery, 2012 Cal. App.
Unpub. LEXIS 266 (Cal. App. Jan. 12, 2012). The law firm in question
did not set up the screen until several months after the allegedly
disqualified lawyer joined the firm. In addition the appellate court
just did not feel that the law firm offered enough compelling evidence
to rebut the presumption of sharing relevant information between the
lateral lawyer and the lawyers in the firm handling this case.
Warehime v. Farmers Ins.,
2012 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7326 (Cal. App. Oct. 9, 2012). In this
employment-related case Firm A represents Plaintiff, and Firm B
represents Defendant. While at Firm A Lawyer agreed to help try the
case. Firm A dissolved and Lawyer wound up at Firm B. Firm B set up
screen for Lawyer three months after Lawyer joined Firm B. In affirming
an order disqualifying Firm B the court held that the screen was not
timely, citing Kirk v. First American Title Ins. Co., 183 Cal. App. 4th 776, 810 (Cal. App. 2010).
Castaneda v. Superior Court, 2015 WL 3892154 (Cal. App. June 24,
2015). Lawyer served as a settlement officer and received confidences
from the litigants. Then Lawyer joined a law firm opposing a party who
had shared the information. In this opinion the appellate court held
that the entire firm is disqualified and that a screen will not work.
The opinion reveals just how muddled the situation is regarding
screening in California courts.
DeMartini v. Blotzer, 2018 WL 5835345 (Cal. App. Unpub. Nov. 8,
2018). Plaintiff DeMartini and Defendant Blotzer are members of a rock
band, RATT. In this case they are fighting over management of RATT, the
use of RATT's name, and so on. Law Firm is representing DeMartini. In an
earlier case, which terminated in 2002 ("the Earlier Case"), Lawyer
Kelley represented DeMartini and Blotzer in a dispute with yet another
RATT member. During the Earlier Case Kelley was "of counsel" to Law
Firm. Lawyers actually in Law Firm were not involved in the Earlier
Case. Kelley terminated his of counsel relationship with Law Firm in
2012. Law Firm filed this case for DeMartini in 2015. Because of
Kelley's earlier of counsel relationship with Law Firm, Blotzer moved to
disqualify Law Firm in this case. The trial court denied the motion. In
this opinion the appellate court affirmed. The court found that Kelley
shared no information with lawyers in Law Firm about the Earlier case.
Thus, as of Kelley's termination of his of counsel relationship with Law
Firm, no one remaining at Law Firm had any information about the
Earlier Case. The court was influenced by ABA Model Rule 1.10(b) and the
fact that California would soon have an equivalent rule.
Changing Firms; Screening (posted August 16, 2019)
Nat'l Grange of the Order of Patrons v. Ellis Grp. LLP,
2019 WL 3800271 (Cal. App. Unpub. Aug. 13, 2019). Lawyer changed firms.
In the face of a motion to disqualify the new firm, the new firm
claimed it had erected a screen. The trial court disqualified the new
firm. In this opinion the appellate court affirmed, in part because the
screen was defective. Because the California Supreme Court adopted a
screening rule after the events of this case, we will only briefly note
that the court applied the analysis of
Kirk v. First Am. Title Ins. Co., 183 Cal. App. 4th 776 (2010), and found the screen wanting.
Lawyers - Federal Courts. Screening Approved Flat-Out by Ninth Circuit, In re County of Los Angeles, 223 F.3d 990 (9th Cir. 2000). ViChip Corp. v. Tsu-Chang Lee, 2004 U.S. Dist. 24968 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 3, 2004), and Visa U.S.A., Inc. v. First Data Corp., 241 F. Supp. 2d 1100 (N.D. Cal. 2003). Earlier federal court cases more hostile to screening are: Employers Ins. of Wausau v. Albert D. Seeno Constr. Co., 692 F. Supp. 1150 (N.D. Cal. 1988); In re Mortgage v. Realty Trust, 195 Bankr. 740 (C.D. Cal. 1996); Andric v. State of California, 55 F. Supp. 2d 1056 (C.D. Cal. 1999).
In-House Law Departments. Take2 Techs. Ltd. v. Pac. Biosciences of Cal., No.
5:23-cv-04166-EJD (N.D. Cal. San Jose Div. Dec. 4, 2023). Law Firm
represents Plaintiff in this patent-related case. Lawyer moved from Law
Firm to the in-house law department of Defendant. Plaintiff moved to
disqualify Lawyer and the entire law department of Defendant. In a
November 6, 2023, opinion the court granted the motion as to Lawyer.
And, the court found that Lawyer had "substantially" participated in
this matter while at Law Firm. The court said that if Lawyer had joined a
"conventional law firm," the entire firm would be disqualified under
California's screening rule. However, the court noted that conflicts law
regarding in-house law departments was undeveloped. The court declined
to disqualify Defendant's entire law department, but said that some
limitations should be put on Lawyer's relationship with specific members
of the law department. The court ordered the parties to confer and
agree on those limitations. In this brief order, after reviewing
submissions by the parties, the court fine-tuned his earlier order and
ruled who could, and could not, participate in this case, and to what
extent.
Union Pacific R.R. Co. v. Hill, 2023 WL 7440302 (N.D. Cal. Nov.
8, 2023). Union Pacific is "successor-in-interest" to Southern Pacific.
We will refer to them jointly as "RR." RR owns industrial properties
adjacent to its lines and yards. Environmental hazards abound. In this
case RR has sued Defendants as lessees of some of these properties for
contaminating the properties. Defendants have counterclaimed claiming RR
has caused contamination adversely affecting Defendants. In this case,
Defendants' law firm ("Law Firm") took the deposition of RR's former
Environmental Manager ("EM"). EM detected a problem with the questions.
EM had, in earlier environmental cases, worked with several lawyers
representing RR, who had subsequently joined Law Firm (Defendant's law
firm). EM sensed that the questions in this deposition were predicated
on what he had shared with those lawyers in the earlier cases. RR moved
to disqualify Law Firm. In this opinion the court denied the motion.
This opinion is very California-centric, citing only California and
Ninth Circuit cases. So we will just identify the issues and recommend
that California lawyers with these issues read the opinion. Were the
prior cases substantially related to this case? Example: Is information
about railroad operations substantially related to under-ground storage
tanks? Did the Law Firm lawyers who represented RR in the prior cases
have information related to this case? Did they share such information
with other lawyers in Law Firm? To what extent was screening effective
in avoiding disqualification?
Klein v. Facebook, Inc., 2021 WL 3053150 (N.D. Cal. July 20,
2021). This opinion is about Lawyer who moved from Firm 1 to Firm 2.
Firm 2 represents plaintiffs in this antitrust class action against
Facebook. While at Firm 1 Lawyer did a lot for work for Facebook on
antitrust matters. Lawyer moved to Firm 2 several months before Firm 2
filed this case against Facebook. Facebook moved to disqualify Firm 2 in
this case. In this opinion the court granted the motion. We will spare
you the court's detailed factual analysis; it would reward reading. The
central analysis dealt with application of California's screening rule,
Rule 1.10(a)(2). First, the court found Lawyer's Facebook work at Firm 1
was substantial, and substantially related to the issues in this case.
Thus, under Rule 1.10(a)(i) Firm 2's screen does not cure the conflict.
The court could have stopped there, but it continued. The court then
found the screen not timely under Rule 1.10(a)(ii). Last, the court
found that the notice Firm 2 gave was not prompt as required by Rule
1.10(a)(iii). (As to timeliness and prompt notice, read the opinion for
the sequence of events.)
Followed Kirk. Nat’l Grange v. California Guild, 2017 WL 2021762 (E.D. Cal. May
12, 2017). Firm 1 represents Plaintiff in this case. Firm 2 represents
Defendant. Lawyer, while at Firm 1, represented Plaintiff on a matter
related to this case. Lawyer moved to Firm 2. Plaintiff moved to
disqualify Firm 2 in this case. In this opinion the court denied the
motion because Firm 2 had screened Lawyer from this case. The opinion
reviewed the history of screening in California, up to, and including,
Kirk v. First Am. Title Ins. Co., 183 Cal. App. 4th 776 (Cal. App. 2010). Absent contrary authority, the court followed
Kirk. An identical opinion appears at 2017 WL 2021731. We have no idea why.
Screening approved. Openwave Systs. Inc. v. Myriad France S.A.S., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35526 (N.D. Cal. March 31, 2011). The court followed
Kirk, shedding doubt on all the cases below that were hostile to non-consensual screens. In a bad decision that did not even acknowledge Kirk and Openwave the court in
Beltran v. Avon Products, Inc., No. 2:12-cv-02502-CJC(ANx) (C.D. Cal. June 1, 2012), denied effect to a screen. Another bad one:
j2 Commc'ns Inc. v. Captaris Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179670 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 19, 2012).
Nextdoor.com, Inc. v. Rajabhyanker,
2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101440 (N.D. Cal. July 19, 2013). In denying a former client disqualification the court noted with approval that the law firm had set up a screen.Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GMBH v. Genentech, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53972 (N.D. Cal. May 14, 2010). In this two-paragraph opinion the court refused to follow
Kirk v. First Amer. Title Ins. Co., 183 Cal. App. 4th 776 (2010), as amended by 2010 WL 1803853 (Cal. Ct. App. May 6, 2010), which recognized screening, because it was not a decision of the California Supreme Court. The opinion does not say that the court was disregarding a screen, although one could infer it was.
Hitachi, Ltd. v. Tatung Co., 419 F. Supp. 2d 1158 (N.D. Cal. 2006), discusses much of the history of screening in California. It did not approve a screen because no California state court had yet approved a screen. It did not mention Panther, supra, presumably because the Panther court had withdrawn its opinion. Moreover, the court said that it would not have approved a screen, in any event, because the tainted lawyer was working in a small group of lawyers who were working on this case.
All American Semiconductor, Inc. v. Hynix Semiconductor, Inc., C 07-1200 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 18, 2008), and
Largo Concrete, Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95690 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 2, 2008), said no to screening, citing
Hitachi.
All American Semiconductor v. Hynix Semiconductor, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12315 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 5, 2009). Because of the merger of the plaintiffs' law firm ("Law Firm"), the court, in October 2008, had disqualified Law Firm from being adverse to one of several defendants. Thus, Law Firm withdrew from that part of the representation but continued against the other defendants. The prevailing defendant then moved to have Law Firm held in contempt. The court denied that motion, but in this order, the court clarified its disqualification order to require Law Firm to get out of the case completely. This was largely because this was an antitrust action containing allegations of conspiracy among all the defendants.
Similar to Adams v. Aerojet General, above,
Dieter v. Regents of the Univ. of Cal., 963 F. Supp. 908 (E.D. Cal. 1997).
In
Visa U.S.A., Inc. v. First Data Corp., 241 F. Supp. 2d 1100 (N.D. Cal. 2003), citing the appellate decision in Panther, the court approved a screen in a situation not involving a moving lawyer.
In
ViChip Corp. v. Tsu-Chang Lee, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24968 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 3, 2004), the court disqualified a law firm because it did not screen the new lawyer. This was not the classic case where the new lawyer was not working on the case; he was the lawyer handling the case.
Lucent Technologies Inc. v. Gateway, Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35502 (S.D. Cal. May 15, 2007). In this patent infringement case Law Firm A represents Plaintiff, and Law Firm B represents Defendant. Lawyer at Firm A left to join Firm B. While at Firm A Lawyer worked extensively on this case, about 2300 hours over several years. Firm B’s D.C.-based lawyers worked on this case. Lawyer joined Firm B’s New York City office. Firm B did not set up a screen until some time after Lawyer arrived. At a time when there was no screen in place, several lawyers at Firm B mentioned this case to Lawyer, but Lawyer claimed he told them nothing. Defendant moved to disqualify Firm B, and in this opinion the court granted the motion. The court discussed the California cases and Ninth Circuit cases and concluded that under these circumstances California courts would not approve the screen in this case.
Levi Strauss & Co. v. Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Co., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83150 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 29, 2007). Lawyer worked in-house at Plaintiff for several years on Plaintiff’s trademark matters. In 2000 Lawyer went to work in Law Firm’s Menlo Park office. Law Firm is representing Defendant in this trademark infringement action. The mark in question is similar to the marks upon which Lawyer worked while at Plaintiff. In this opinion the court sustained Plaintiff’s motion to disqualify Law Firm. The court held that this case was substantially related to what Lawyer had done at Plaintiff. The court also held that the entire Law Firm should be disqualified. There had been several half-hearted attempts by Law Firm to set up a screen, but the court seemed to be saying that a screen would not have made any difference because this conflict involved Lawyer’s actual representation of Plaintiff, not just Lawyer’s knowledge of information about the matters in this case. The court also held that waiting approximately two months from the date the complaint was filed until moving to disqualify did not waive the conflict. Another untidy aspect to this matter was that Lawyer was listed as one of the lawyers at Law Firm on the application papers for the trademark in question. Defendant learned of this in early 2006 and raised concerns about it with Lawyer at that time. Law Firm claimed, however, that its trademark team for this case was based in D.C. and that Lawyer did not, in fact, work on the matter.
Skyy Spirits, LLC v. Rubyy, LLC, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109641 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 9, 2009). For several years Lawyer represented Skyy. He also represented Kanbar, Skyy's founder. Lawyer represented Kanbar when Kanbar sold Skyy. Lawyer continued to represent Skyy after the sale. After leaving Skyy, Kanbar founded Rubyy. In this case Skyy, represented by Lawyer, sued Rubyy for copyright infringement (care to guess why?). Rubyy moved to disqualify Lawyer, because of Lawyer's earlier representation of Skyy and Kanbar. In this opinion the court denied the motion. First, the court noted that it was Kanbar who "jumped ship," not Lawyer. Further, this case is not related to what Lawyer had done for Kanbar. Last, the court was clearly influenced by the fact that Rubyy waited eight months, during this case's late stages, to file the motion.
Not joining firm, but hiring it.
Neal v. Health Net, Inc., 123 Cal. Rptr. 2d 202 (Cal. App. 2002). Michael Traylor represents the plaintiff in an action against the defendant, Health Net, Inc. Health Net fired one of its legal secretaries, Cynthia Brockett, while this suit was pending. She hired Traylor to represent her. Accordingly, Health Net moved to disqualify Traylor in this case. Brockett admitted that while at Health Net she looked briefly at a file related to this case. Both she and Traylor denied that she gave any of this information to Traylor. The trial court granted the motion to disqualify Traylor. The Appellate Court reversed, noting that this case did not involve a lawyer or non-lawyer changing firms but rather a non-lawyer leaving one firm and hiring the other as her lawyer. The court also noted that there was no showing that Brockett gave Traylor any confidential information from the file she looked at. This case is not unlike a series of Northern District of Illinois cases cited below under "Illinois." They involved a lawyer who left a law department and hired (not joined) a law firm that was suing her former employer in three separate cases. She had had supervisory responsibility for those cases, but the courts held that the defendants had failed to show that she gave her lawyer any information about the cases. To see a discussion of those cases, click here.
Farhang v. Indian Inst. of Tech., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6930 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 13, 2010). Law Firm represented Former Client in a matter substantially related to this case. In this case Law Firm is adverse to Former Client. The three lawyers that billed time for Former Client left Law Firm before this matter arose. Former Client moved to disqualify Law Firm in this matter. In this opinion the court denied the motion. First, the court, following California precedent, adopted the approach of ABA Model Rule 1.10(b). The focus then became whether any lawyers remaining at Law Firm had learned anything about the earlier matter from the three lawyers who had departed. After a hearing the court concluded nothing significant had been exchanged.
Farhang v. Indian Inst. of Tech. Kharagpur,
2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 100032 (N.D. Cal. July 17, 2012). Lawyer sought
to join the law firm for the defendant ("Law Firm"). Because Lawyer
earlier represented the plaintiff in a somewhat similar case, Law Firm
sought the plaintiff's permission to bring in Lawyer. The plaintiff
demanded that Law Firm set up a screen, which was done by stipulation.
More recently one of the lawyers ("Lawyer 2"), posted in the same office
as Lawyer, started getting active in this case. In this opinion the
court ordered compliance with the terms of the stipulation, including,
possibly, moving Lawyer or Lawyer 2 to another office.Genentech, Inc. v. Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GMBH, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35867 (N.D. Cal. March 20, 2010). Patent infringement action. The defendant moved to disqualify the law firm ("Law Firm") for the plaintiff. In this opinion the court granted the motion. The senior named partner of Law Firm had earlier, at another law firm, represented the defendant in a patent interference proceeding before the USPTO. In a lengthy, fact-specific analysis the court held that the earlier matter and this matter were substantially related. While the extent of Lawyer's involvement in the earlier matter was disputed, the court held that Lawyer's involvement was "direct and personal." Therefore, the court held, Lawyer was presumed to be privy to material, confidential information about the defendant. Although Lawyer had no involvement in this case, because California courts had not embraced screening, Lawyer's disqualification was imputed to Law Firm. This case appears to have been decided before Kirk (see above at the beginning of the California discussion).
Streetspace, Inc. v. Google Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15187
(N.D. Cal. Feb. 1, 2012). Lawyer left Old Firm to join New Firm. While
at Old Firm, other lawyers prosecuted the patent at issue in this
infringement case. New Firm is representing a defendant in this case.
Plaintiff moved to disqualify New Firm because of the presence of
Lawyer. In this opinion the court denied the motion because New Firm
carried its burden of showing that Lawyer knew nothing about the patent
in question while at Old Firm.
Not a Migratory Lawyer Case. Signature MD, Inc. v. MDVIP, Inc.,
No. CV 14-5453-DMG (SSx) (C.D. Cal. Jan. 20, 2015). In a former-client, substantial-relationship situation, where the firm attempted to set up a screen, the court held that a two-day delay was fatal.
Western Sugar Coop. v. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., No. CV 11-3473 CBM (MANx) (C.D. Cal. Feb. 13, 2015). Interesting discussion of screening in California. Moreover, a firm claimed it had a de facto screen in place because of incompatible computer systems of merged firms (to be followed by formal screen). What seemed to cause the court to reject the screen in this case was the fact that two lawyers from screened groups had communicated.
Follows Adams v. Aerojet (see state decisions, above). Loop AI Labs Inc. v. Gatti, 2016 WL 344874 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 28, 2016).
Blankenchip v. CitiMortgage, Inc., 2016 WL 6821867 (E.D. Cal.
Nov. 18, 2016). Plaintiffs sued MortCo for wrongful foreclosure. Lawyer
applied for pro hac vice admission to represent Plaintiffs. MortCo
objected because Lawyer had just left employment with Law Firm. Law Firm
represents MortCo around the U.S. in consumer finance cases. In this
opinion the court allowed Lawyer’s admission. As to a current client
conflict, the court said whatever brief relationship existed between
Plaintiffs and Lawyer prior to his leaving Law Firm was “de minimis” and
not worthy of disqualification. As to a former client analysis, the
court found that Lawyer had nothing to do with MortCo’s consumer finance
work while at Law Firm.
Non-Lawyers - Probably.
Atmel Corp. v. Information Storage Devices, Inc., 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4241 (N.D. Cal. 1998);
Devora v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No B306090 (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Unpub. May 26, 2021)
; Wallis v. PHL Associates, Inc., 2006 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1739 (Cal. App. Feb. 28, 2006);
In Re Complex Asbestos Litigation, 283 Cal. Rptr. 732 (Cal. App.1991);
Gregori v. Bank of America, 254 Cal. Rptr. 853 (Cal. App. 1989). Cal. Op. 1992-126 (1992) seems to suggest that screening will work for temporary lawyers who move from firm-to-firm.
Thomas v. Howard, 2006 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 11287 (Cal. App. Dec. 15, 2006), did not follow
In Re Complex Asbestos Litigation, because paralegal had passed the bar exam (but, not yet admitted).
L.A. Co. Bar Ass'n Op. 524 (2011). This opinion addresses the confidentiality and other obligations of a non-lawyer and the new firm where the non-lawyer changes law firms with information about a matter between the firms. Among other things, the opinion acknowledges that a screen will work.
Pursley v. Philippe, 2010 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 6513 (Cal. App. Aug. 16, 2010). Automobile accident case. The defendants were insured by InsCo. The InsCo adjuster working on this case approached the plaintiffs' law firm ("Law Firm") about a job before the trial, but did not work at the firm until after the trial. On the first day of trial the defendants learned that the adjuster accepted the job (but had not yet started) with the plaintiffs' law firm. The defendants moved to disqualify the plaintiffs' law firm. The trial court denied the motion. In this opinion the appellate court affirmed. The court noted, among other things, that the adjuster had no contact with the lawyers handling this case and that it was the intention of Law Firm to screen the adjuster from all InsCo cases. Although the adjuster had a law degree, the court noted that the adjuster did not do legal work on this case, and ruled that the adjuster be treated as a non-lawyer.
Jones v. City of L.A., 2018 WL 2252543 (Cal. App. Unpub. May 17,
2018). This is one of several employment related cases. In three other
cases Hispanic police officers sued L.A. because their supervisor
ordered them to speak English only in the squad room. An in-house lawyer
defended L.A. She was assisted by Officer Carla Cryer. In this case
non-Hispanic officers sued L.A. because they were harassed by Hispanic
officers speaking Spanish. L.A. is being represented by Outside Law
Firm, which is being assisted by the same Officer Cryer. Because of
Cryer's involvement, the non-Hispanic plaintiffs in this case moved to
disqualify Outside Law Firm. The trial court granted the motion. In this
opinion the appellate court affirmed. Much of the fact-specific
analysis deals with what Cryer learned by and from the non-Hispanic
officers during defense of the three cases brought by the Hispanic
officers. On balance the court found that Cryer, the non-lawyer learned
too much and had not been screened in this case. The court relied
extensively on
Shadow Traffic Network v. Superior Court, 24 Cal. App. 4th 1067 (1994).
ColoradoLawyers - Probably. Rules 1.9(b) and 1.10(a). See Colorado Formal Op. 88 (1991). However, one federal judge in Colorado spoke favorably of screens,
Hunter Douglas, Inc. v. Home Fashions, Inc., 811 F. Supp. 566 (D. Col. 1992).
People v. Manzanares, 139 P.3d 655 (Col. 2006), looks favorably upon screens for former defense lawyers who move to prosecutors’ offices.
As of January 1, 2008 - Probably. According to the June 27, 2007, online edition of the Current Reports of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct, Colorado has amended its rules to conform to most of the ABA changes in 2002-2003. One exception is that Colorado will add a fairly lawyer-friendly screening provision to Rule 1.10. For a screen to work, the moving lawyer should not have “substantially participated” in the subject matter at his or her former firm. The Colorado changes will take effect January 1, 2008.
Non-Lawyers - Hard to say. Col. Op. 105 (1999) looks favorably on screening in the context of temporary lawyers.
Law Clerk. Valdez v. Motyka,
2021 WL 6197286 (D. Col. Dec. 30, 2021). Law Clerk moved to Law Firm.
In this opinion the court ruled that the court need not recuse. Filings
reflected that the clerk stopped all work on this case after receiving
her offer from Law Firm, and that Law Firm had erected an effective
screen between the former clerk and this case.
ConnecticutLawyers - Probably. Conn. Rule 1.10(a)(b); very similar, if not identical, to ABA Model Rule 1.10.
The case law in Connecticut is interesting. In
Laprise v. Paul, 2007 Conn. Super. LEXIS 3236 (Conn. Super. Dec. 7, 2009), upholding a screen, the court said:
When sufficient procedures are put in place in the form of a "Chinese Wall" to guarantee that there can be no accidental disclosure of a client's confidential information no disqualification is required when an attorney changes employment into an adversaries' law firm. Milne v. Ryea, supra. The concept of screening or a "Chinese Wall" has often been recognized in Connecticut courts. See, e.g. Temkin v. Temkin, 1993 WL 392941, 10 Conn. L. Rptr. 127, 1993 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2442; Beckenstein Enterprises et al. v. Dennis J. Smith, 2003 WL 1900915, 34 Conn. L. Rptr. 459, 2003 Conn. Super. LEXIS 918.
Also, see Horch v. United of Omaha Life Ins. Co., 1999 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1792 (Conn. Super. 1999), which approved a screen, but citing no Connecticut authority for doing so.
Also see State of Connecticut v. White, 2000 Conn. Super. LEXIS 85 (Conn. Super. 2000), and
State of Connecticut v. Marion, 2000 Conn. Super. LEXIS 77 (Conn. Super. 2000). Neither was about lawyers changing firms; they were both criminal prosecutions. Neither discussed Rule 1.10(b). In each case, the court implied that if an effective "Chinese Wall" had been erected, there might not have been a disqualification. In
Wellner v. Carroll, 1995 Conn. Super. LEXIS 359 (Conn. Super. 1995), not involving a lawyer changing firms, the court implies that a "Chinese Wall" in that case might have prevented disqualification. It does not discuss Rule 1.10(b).
Brown v. City of Hartford, 2015 WL
6142877 (Conn. App. Oct. 27, 2015). Lawyer represented Plaintiff in a
dispute with City regarding Plaintiff’s dilapidated building. Lawyer
became City’s corporation counsel. City demolished the building. In this
case Plaintiff sued City for offenses related to the demolition. An
assistant corporation counsel (not Lawyer) appeared for City. Plaintiff
moved to disqualify the assistant. The trial court denied the motion. In
this opinion the appellate court affirmed. The court said that
Connecticut’s version of MR 1.11 applied. Lawyer, uncontradicted by
Plaintiff, averred that he revealed none of Plaintiff’s information to
others at City.
Lecompte v. C.F. Woodford & Son, Inc., 2022 WL 4129410
(Super. Ct. Conn. Sept. 12, 2022). Plaintiff is suing Defendants for
injuries suffered on Defendants' premises. Firm 1 represents Defendants.
Firm 2 represents Plaintiff. Lawyer was employed at Firm 1 when this
case began. Lawyer moved to Firm 2. Defendants moved to disqualify
Lawyer and Firm 2. In this opinion the court denied the motion. In a
fact-intensive analysis the court found that Lawyer did not represent
Defendants while at Firm 1 and learned nothing about the case while
there. Thus, there was no basis to disqualify Lawyer or Firm 2 and no
need for a screen at Firm 2.
Non-Lawyers - Maybe.
Rivera v. Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co., 1991 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1832 (Conn. Super. 1991).
DelawareLawyers - Probably. Rule 1.10(c). See Delaware Op. 1986-1; Nemours Foundation v. Gilbane, Aetna, Federal Ins. Co., 632 F. Supp. 418 (D. Del. 1986).
Screens in Non-Traditional Contexts. Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. v. Airgas, Inc., No. 5249-CC (Del. Chancery March 5, 2010). In this opinion the court recognized a screen to cure what was at one time a current client. This did not involve a lawyer changing firms. Likewise, in Dollar Tree, Inc. v. Dollar Express LLC, No. 2017-0411-AGB (Del. Ch. Nov. 21, 2017), a former client situation.
In re Maxus Energy Corp., 2022 WL 4113656 (3d Cir. Sept. 9,
2022). In this Chapter 11 proceeding the liquidating trustee is suing
YPF S.A., and others, for fraudulent conveyance and related claims. Firm
1 is representing the trustee. Firm 2 is representing YPF. Lawyer,
while at Firm 2 did substantial work on the case for YPF. Lawyer moved
to Firm 1, which erected a timely screen. YPF moved to disqualify Firm
1. The bankruptcy judge denied the motion, terming the screen "robust."
In this opinion the Third Circuit affirmed. The court noted that the
Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware had adopted the ABA Model
Rules. The only unique circumstance here was that when Lawyer changed
firms, she was engaged to a lawyer in her new firm. (They ultimately
married, but the opinion is not clear when.) While Lawyer was not
apportioned any fees from this case, her "spouse" was not so treated.
YPF felt that for the screen to be effective, the spouse should also be
denied a share of fees from the case. Nope, said the Third Circuit,
construing Model Rule 1.10(a)(2)(i).
Bleacher v. Bose,
2017 WL 1854794 (Del. Super. Ct. May 3, 2017). Medical malpractice case
against Doctor. Lawyers A and B were, at all times, partners in Law
Firm. Lawyer A earlier defended Doctor in a different malpractice case,
through trial. Lawyer B represents Plaintiff in this case. Doctor moved
to disqualify Law Firm. A and B filed affidavits saying B is screened
from the earlier case. In this opinion the trial judge granted the
motion under Rule 1.10(a). The court said the screening exception under
Rule 1.10(c) was not available because this case did not involve a
“migrating” lawyer.
Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Checkpoint Software Tech., Inc., Civ. No. 10-1067-LPS (D. Del. June 30, 2011). Law Firm helped client set up a "patent troll" (our phrase), which is the plaintiff in this case. Law Firm did much work for the plaintiff over several years. After plaintiff and Law Firm had a falling-out, Law Firm appeared in this patent infringement case for one of the defendants. The plaintiff moved to disqualify Law Firm. In this opinion the court granted the motion. The court conducted a fact-intensive substantial relationship analysis, finding that the matters were related. Law Firm tried to head off disqualification by setting up a screen between the lawyers that had worked on the plaintiffs matters and the lawyers handling this case. The court rejected the screen, distinguishing
Boston Sci. Corp. v. Johnson & Johnson, Inc., 647 F. Supp. 2d 369 (D. DeL 2009). The court emphasized that the matters in Boston Scientific were unrelated and that the lawyers in question were in different offices.
Enzo Life Sciences, Inc. v. Adipogen Corp.,
2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164939 (D. Del. Nov. 20, 2013). Lawyer, while at
Firm No. 1 did work on this case for the defendants. Lawyer then went
to Firm No. 2 and became a name partner. Firm No. 2 then showed up as
counsel for the plaintiff. At the same time Firm No. 2 notified the
defendants of Lawyer’s presence at Firm No. 2 and described an elaborate
screen separating Lawyer from this case. The defendants moved to
disqualify Firm No. 2. In this opinion the court granted the motion.
(Court’s Local Rules adopted the ABA Model Rules, so the screen was
analyzed in the Model Rules context.) Among other things, the court
thought that Lawyer did too much work on this case while with Firm No.
1. The court also felt that Firm No. 2, having only eight lawyers, was
too small for the screen to work. Last, the court did not believe Firm
No. 2’s assertion that Lawyer would not benefit from the fees earned in
this case.Non-Lawyers - Probably. Del. Op. 1986-1 (undated).
District of ColumbiaLawyers - Probably. Rule 1.10(b)(3). D.C.’s Rule 1.10(f) is unique among states allowing non-consensual screening. Where confidentiality concerns make notice to the other side impractical, the rule requires the hiring law firm to file the notice under seal with the D.C. Disciplinary Counsel. When confidentiality is no longer an issue, the rule requires the hiring law firm to give the notice to the affected party.
Doing the Conflicts Analysis without Violating Confidentiality Rules. D.C. Op. 312 (2002). This opinion deals with the delicate topic of what a potential hire and her new law firm can tell each other when sorting through the potential conflicts. Increasingly, authorities are taking the position that the mere identity of a client may be subject to the confidentiality provisions of Model Rule 1.6 and similar rules. This opinion sifts through the various permutations of how the firm and the candidate can do the conflicts check without violating such rules. What makes the opinion slightly “one-off” is the fact that D.C.’s version of Rule 1.6 retains the “confidence or secret” rubric, and the opinion confines its analysis to the D.C. version.
APCC Services, Inc. v. AT&T Corp., Civil Action No. 99--696 (ESH) (D.D.C. July 6, 2011). While with Firm A Lawyer agreed not to be adverse to AT&T in this case. Now, with Firm B, Lawyer is opposing AT&T in this case. AT&T moved to disqualify Lawyer in this case. In this two-page opinion the court granted the motion, applying the agreement according to its terms.
Non-Lawyers - Probably. D.C. Op. 227 (1992) & 279 (1998).
FloridaLawyers - Probably not. Rule 4-1.10(b).
See Gaton v. Health Coalition, Inc., 745 So. 2d 510 (Fla. App. 1999);
Birdsall v. Crowngap, Ltd., 575 So. 2d 231 (Fla. App. 1991);
Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. v. Petrin, 516 So. 2d 6 (Fla. App. 1987);
Nissan Motor Corp. v. Orozco, 595 So. 2d 240 (Fla. App. 1992).
Solomon v. Dickison, 916 So. 2d 943 (Fla. App. 2005). Lawyer moved from Firm A to Firm B. Lawyer and Firm B are representing the plaintiffs in this medical malpractice case. Firm A represents the defendants, including a hospital. While Lawyer was with Firm A, he represented the hospital in a number of cases. One day, while still at Firm A, he had a conversation with the hospital’s claims adjuster about this matter. Based upon that conversation, the hospital moved to disqualify Lawyer and Firm B. In his affidavit Lawyer claimed that all the adjuster said was that the hospital was going to send a case to Firm A that involved a patient who had a problem when admitted and had a worse problem after treatment. The adjuster submitted an affidavit saying that she told Lawyer all about the case. The trial court, relying on Florida’s version of MR 1.9, granted the motion, holding that the presumption that Lawyer had the hospital’s information from the earlier representations was “irrefutable.” The appellate court in this opinion ordered the disqualification vacated and remanded for an evidentiary hearing. It ruled that the motion should have been governed by Florida’s version of MR 1.10(b), that the foregoing presumption was not irrefutable, and that the trial court should hold an evidentiary hearing to resolve the conflict raised by the two affidavits.
Scott v. Higginbotham, 834 So. 2d 221 (Fla. App. 2002). Andrew Klymenko changed firms while a matter was pending between the two firms. The client of the old firm moved to disqualify the new firm. A partner in the old firm submitted an affidavit stating that Klymenko had confidences about the matter. But, in a hearing the partner could not recall what the confidences were. Klymenko testified that he received no such information. The trial court denied the motion to disqualify. The appellate court affirmed.
Valeant Int'l Bermuda v. Watson Pharms., Inc.,
2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 26473 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 26, 2012). This is an appeal by the defendant in a
patent infringement case. Law Firm A appeared for the defendant in the
appeal. Because of two lawyers that had joined Law Firm A, the
plaintiff moved to disqualify Firm A. While at a prior law firm, the
two lawyers had worked on the plaintiff's matters including relating to
the patents at issue in this case. Law Firm A claimed it had
implemented a screen. In this opinion the Federal Circuit granted the
motion. First, the court held that the applicable ethics rules are
those of the trial court (S.D. Fla.), which had adopted the Florida
Rules. Florida's version of rule 1.10 does not allow for screens.Bon Secours-Maria Manor Nursing Care Center, Inc. v. Seaman, 959 So. 2d 774 (Fla. App. 2007). Associate at Firm A represented the plaintiff in this case. While this case was pending, Firm A dissolved, and the first-named partner of Firm A (“Partner”) joined Firm B, the firm that represented the defendant. Associate continued on behalf of the plaintiff. The plaintiff moved to disqualify Firm B because of the presence of Partner. The trial court granted the motion. In this opinion the appellate court reversed. The court noted that the only “evidence” that the Partner knew anything about this case was the unsworn statement of Associate. In contrast the Partner filed an affidavit stating that he knew nothing about the case.
Brown v. Florida Dept. of Highway Safety & Motor Vehic.,
2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145159 (N.D. Fla. Oct. 5, 2012). While working
for the defendant Lawyer worked on this case. Lawyer left the defendant
and began working from home on certain matters referred to her by the
plaintiff's lawyer, but not matters related to this case. In this
opinion the court denied a motion to disqualify the plaintiff's lawyer.
The court held that Lawyer had not become "associated" with the
plaintiff's lawyer within the meaning of Florida's version of Model
Rules 1.10 and 1.11.
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Health & Wellness Servs., Inc.,
2019 WL 6954199 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 19, 2019). State Farm is suing certain
medical providers for insurance fraud. Jesus Lorites, a doctor, is a
defendant. He moved to disqualify Holland & Knight ("H&K") and
an H&K lawyer, David Spector. In 2011, a partner at Akerman
Senterfitt ("AS") advised Lorites on a contract matter. At that time,
Spector was at AS. In this opinion the court denied the motion to
disqualify. Lorites did not show that Spector, while at AS, learned
anything whatever about Lorites. The court also found that Lorites
waited too long (14 months) from the time he was served in this case
until he moved to disqualify.
Residences at European Vill. Condo. Ass'n v. Rockhill Ins. Co.,
No. 3:19-cv-1490-J-20JRK (M.D. Fla. May 4, 2020). While this case was
pending, Lawyer left Plaintiff's law firm and joined Defendant's law
firm. Plaintiff moved to disqualify Defendant's law firm. The parties
filed opposing affidavits on the issue of what information Lawyer may
have received about the law suit while at Plaintiff's law firm. He knew
about the suit and may have discussed it with other lawyers for
Plaintiff. In this opinion the magistrate judge denied the motion to
disqualify. The court said Plaintiff could not rely upon the
"irrefutable presumption" created by Rule 1.9, but must show knowledge
of "material confidential information," the standard in Rule 1.10.
Plaintiff failed to make that showing.
Florida Virtual School v. K12, Inc., No. 6:20-cv-2354-GAP-EJK
(M.D. Fla. April 20, 2022). Trademark dispute. Defendant K12 has moved
to disqualify Plaintiff FV's law firm ("Law Firm") because a lawyer
("Lawyer") who had represented K12, at another law firm, in an earlier
trademark matter, against FV. In this highly fact-specific opinion the
magistrate judge has recommended that the motion be granted. First, the
court found that although Lawyer was a low-level associate not in charge
of the case, in the earlier matter, she was in a position to learn
information "material" to this action. Second, the court found that the
earlier matter was substantially related to this one. Because Florida's
Rule 1.10 does not contain a screening exception, the court limited its
analysis to Rule 1.9 on former client matters and Rule 1.10 on
imputation.
Cole-Palmer Instrument Co. v. Prof'l Labs., Inc., No.
0:21-cv-61756-GOODMAN[CONSENT] (S.D. Fla. Jan. 6, 2023). Florida Rule
1.10(c)((1)&(2) appears to be identical to Model Rule
1.10(b)(1)&(2). This is a rare reported decision applying that rule.
Lawyer was at Firm 1 for about one year. Firm 1 represents Plaintiff.
Defendant is claiming that Lawyer briefly represented Defendant on a
matter related to this case and moved to disqualify Firm 1. In this
opinion the magistrate judge denied the motion. The analysis is so
fact-dependent, we will spare readers with a recitation of those facts.
First, the judge held that Lawyer and Firm 1 never represented
Defendant. Last, the judge held that, in any event, the matters were not
substantially related and that any information received by Lawyer and
Firm 1 from, or about, Defendant was now public.
Stratemeyer v. Northstar Constr. Mgmt. Co., Inc., 2024 WL 1363393
(S.D. Fla. April 1, 2024). Plaintiff was injured in an auto accident in
2019 and brought this case against Defendants. Plaintiff had been
injured in a different accident in 2015. Lawyer briefly represented
Plaintiff after the earlier accident, but referred Plaintiff to another
firm almost immediately. The problem is that Lawyer is now in the firm
representing Defendants in this case. So, Plaintiff moved to disqualify
Defendants' law firm. In this opinion the court denied the motion to
disqualify. The court applied Florida Rule 4-1.10(b) and found that what
Lawyer learned about Plaintiff in the brief 2015 representation was
less than sketchy.
Non-Lawyers – Probably. In 2006 Florida adopted a new comment to its Rule 4-1.10, which recognizes screening for non-lawyers. Prior to that change the appellate districts had been split on this issue. In Lansing v. Lansing, 784 So. 2d 1254 (Fla. App. May 25, 2001) (5th District); Stewart v. Bee-Dee Neon & Signs, Inc., 751 So. 2d 196 (Fla. App. 2000) (1st District), City of Apopka v. All Corners, Inc., 701 So. 2d 641 (Fla. App. 1997) (5th District), and Esquire Care, Inc. v Maguire, 532 So. 2d (Fla. App. 1988) (2d District), the courts approved screening of non-lawyers. Fla. Op. 5 (1986) did likewise. In First Miami Securities, Inc. v. Sylvia, 780 So. 2d 250 (Fla. App. 2001) (3rd District) and in Koulisis v. Rivers, 730 So. 2d 289 (Fla. App. 1999) (4th District), the courts did not approve screening for non-lawyers. In Matluck v. Matluck, 825 So. 2d 1071 (Fla. App. 2002), the court, following Koulisis, disqualified a firm that had associated a lawyer, who had previously acted as a mediator for the parties. In Eastrich No. 157 Corp. v. Gatto, 868 So. 2d 1266 (Fla. App. 2004), the Fourth District Court of Appeals said Koulisis was still good law, but a secretary who was in the new firm for just part of two days working on nothing having to do with the case would not disqualify the new firm. One of our Florida observers believes the new comment to Rule 4-1.10 should resolve the split, but caution is advised.
Screening Judge's Law Clerk. In re Fundamental Long Term Care, Inc.,
2019 WL 1443404 (M.D. Fla. June 7, 2019). This opinion denies motions
to recuse the bankruptcy judge and his law clerk. The problem was that
the law clerk had previously practiced in the law firm for certain
creditors and may have learned things that might taint his behavior as
the judge's clerk. As to that claim, in this opinion, the bankruptcy
judge said that the remedy in such a situation is for the judge to
screen the clerk from this case. The judge had done so.
GeorgiaLawyers - Probably not. Rule 1.9(b).
Robinson v. First Key Homes of Ga., LLC, 2022 WL 16547139 (Ga. App. Oct. 31, 2022);
Helton v. The Geo. D. Warthen Bank, 2022 WL 16700386 (M.D. Ga. Nov. 3, 2022).
But, see Georgia Baptist Health Care System, Inc. v. Hanafi, 559 S.E.2d 746 (Ga. App. 2002). The plaintiff, a doctor, sued a hospital in two successive actions relating to the hospital’s refusal to grant practice privileges to the plaintiff. During the earlier proceeding, the plaintiff changed law firms. The defense firm then hired from the plaintiff’s earlier firm a young lawyer who had worked on the plaintiff’s case. The defense firm erected a screen and wrote a letter to the plaintiff’s then current firm saying that the defense firm assumed the plaintiff had no objection to the arrangement. The opinion does not state that the defense firm received a specific oral approval of the screen. Seventeen months into the first proceeding the plaintiff moved to disqualify the defense firm. The trial judge denied the motion, and the plaintiff did not appeal the ruling. The plaintiff then dismissed the action. The plaintiff brought a second action. The same defense firm appeared. After eight additional months, the plaintiff moved to disqualify the defense firm. The trial judge granted the motion. On appeal the appellate court reversed. The appellate court said that the seventeen-month and eight-month delays rendered the motion to disqualify untimely. In addition the court noted there was “evidence” of a waiver and that the screen seemed effective to prevent the plaintiff from being prejudiced.
11th Cir. Approves screen. Bayshore Ford Truck Sales, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 380 F.3d 1331 (11th Cir. 2004). Bayshore is one of several dealers suing Ford regarding their franchise agreements. They filed the suit in 1998. Sutherland Asbill is Ford's local counsel in the case. In 1999 Charles Glanz joined Sutherland, bringing one of the plaintiffs and its owner with him. He did corporate and estate planning for those clients. Sutherland attempted to get a waiver from those plaintiffs but were unsuccessful. Sutherland then dropped the dealer and its owner as clients. Sutherland also erected a screen between Glanz and the lawyers working on this case. The dealer moved to disqualify Sutherland. The trial court (N.D. Ga.) denied the motion. In this opinion the appellate affirmed.
The court expressed hostility to screening in
Amoco Chemicals Corp. v. McArthur, 568 F. Supp. 42 (N.D. Ga. 1983).
Note: Georgia recently adopted the Model Rule version of Rule 1.9(b), which does not make allowances for screens. It is not clear whether the appellate court would have allowed the defense firm to stay in the case absent the plaintiff’s long delays in raising the conflict.
In re Formal Advisory Op. 10-1,
2013 Ga. LEXIS 617 (Ga. July 11, 2013). The court held that the
imputation provisions of Rule 1.10 apply to all members of the same
circuit public defender office. Non-Lawyers - Probably.
Hodge v. UFRA Sexton, LP, 2014 Ga. LEXIS 346 (Ga. May 5, 2014) (provided notice given to other side).HawaiiLawyers - Tough Screening Rule. Rule 1.10(c). Screen requires consent if moving lawyer participated in the matter at the first firm.
Reading Int'l, Inc. v. Malulani Grp., Ltd. 2016 WL 736556 (9th
Cir. Feb. 25, 2016). Robbins represented TMG in state court litigation
against Reading. That case went to mediation and was settled. TMG
terminated Robbins between the time the settlement was largely agreed
to, but before it was finalized. Reading brought this case against TMG
for breaching the settlement agreement. TMG prevailed in the district
court. Reading brought this appeal. After Reading filed its initial
appellate brief, Robbins joined the firm representing Reading, the
Bronster Firm. The Bronster Firm erected a screen. TMG moved to
disqualify the Bronster Firm. In this opinion the Ninth Circuit granted
the motion. First, the court found that this appeal and the underlying
state court action were substantially related. Second, the court held
that because Robbins personally participated in the state court
litigation, a non-consensual screen would not comply with Hawaii’s
unique screening rule, which requires consent if the moving lawyer
participated in the matter at the prior firm.
Non-Lawyers - Probably. DL v. CL, No. SCWC-18-0000211 (Haw. April 17, 2020). Divorce
case. H moved to disqualify W's law firm. That law firm hired a
paralegal who had earlier worked on H's side of this case at another law
firm. W's law firm screened the paralegal from this case. The Family
Court denied the motion to disqualify. The intermediate appellate court
affirmed. In this opinion the Hawaii Supreme Court affirmed. The court
noted that Comment 4 to Hawaii's version of MR 1.10 approves screening
for non-lawyers "where effective."
IdahoLawyers - Probably not. Rule 1.10(b).
Inadvertent breach of screen can be cause of action for damages. Spur Products Corp. v. Stoel Rives LLP, 122 P.3d 300 (Ida. 2005). Idaho is not a screening state. This case involved a screen set up by agreement. The parties agreed that a screen could be set up for a lawyer changing firms, but later a lawyer in the firm sent information about the screened client to the screened lawyer. The court held that the breach of the screen constituted a cause of action for damages.
Stevens v. Brigham Young Univ. Idaho, 2021 U.S. Dist. Lexis 78879
(D. Idaho April 23, 2021). Lori Stevens is suing BYU Idaho ("BYU") for
sexual harassment arising out of Stevens' intimate relationship with a
now-deceased professor. BYU is seeking discovery of Stevens'
communications with LDS Church ("Church") leaders relating to that
relationship. Church intervened to protect those communications from
discovery under the priest-penitent privilege. The church is represented
by the Kirton Firm. Initially, BYU was represented by the Anderson
Firm. In the fall of 2020 the lawyers at the Anderson Firm, representing
BYU, moved to the Kirton Firm. The Kirton Firm formed a screen between
the lawyers representing BYU and Church. Stevens moved to disqualify the
Kirton Firm from representing BYU in this case. In this opinion the
court denied the motion with unremarkable conditions fortifying the
screen at the Kirton Firm.
Hepworth Holzer, LLP v. Dist. Judge Norton, 2021 WL 4692822 (Ida.
Oct. 8, 2021). Gary Tubbs was injured in a bicycle accident on property
owned by a recreational association ("Ass'n"). Tubbs hired the Hepworth
law firm ("Hepworth") to bring a case against Ass'n. The Elam firm
("Elam") represents Ass'n. Elam filed a motion for summary judgment.
While that motion was pending, an associate ("Lawyer") left Elam and
joined Hepworth. One month after Lawyer's move, the trial court granted
summary judgment for Ass'n. Lawyer, then at Hepworth, helped draft a
motion for reconsideration. Earlier, while at Elam, Lawyer did discuss
legal theories regarding the motion for summary judgment with two Elam
lawyers. Lawyer billed no time to the case. Ass'n moved to disqualify
Hepworth. The trial court granted the motion. Hepworth petitioned the
Idaho Supreme Court for mandamus or prohibition. In this opinion the
court, in granting mandamus (reversing the disqualification), discussed
several procedural issues at great length. We will skip those. The court
was particularly impressed with Lawyer's "negligible contact" with the
case while at Elam and the prejudice to Tubbs if the disqualification of
Hepworth were sustained.
Non-Lawyers - Hard to Say. Stevens v. Brigham Young Univ.-Idaho, 2018 WL 3747448 (D. Ida.
Aug. 7, 2018). Both a current and future law clerk to the judge in this
case know several of the parties. In this opinion the court holds that
the judge is not disqualified. Instead, the law clerks will be screened
from this case. The judge said he would "borrow" a clerk from another
judge to work on this case.
IllinoisLawyers - Yes. Rules 1.10(b)(2) and 1.10(e).
See Cromley v. Lockport Bd. Of Educ., 17 F.3d 1059 (7th Cir. 1994);
Amurol Confections Co. v. Morris Nat'l, Inc., 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9544 (N.D. Ill. June 5, 2003);
Miller v. Chicago & N.W. Trans. Co., 938 F. Supp. 503 (N.D. Ill. 1996). But, see Van Jackson v. Check 'n Go of Illinois, Inc., 114 F. Supp. 2d 731 (N.D. Ill. 2000). The court disqualified the new firm, primarily because it was too small (four lawyers) to ensure that a screen would work. Two cases on Illinois' position on screening that predated adoption of screening in the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct are:
SK Handtool Corp. v. Dresser Indust., Inc., 619 N.E.2d 1282, 1290 (Ill. App. 1993); and
Marriage of Thornton, 486 N.E.2d 1288, 1294-97 (Ill. App. 1985).
Not joining firm, but hiring it. Burrow v. Northeast Illinois Regional Railroad Corp., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8100 (N.D. Ill. May 6, 2002). Burrow is suing the railroad for personal injuries. His law firm is also representing a former in-house lawyer from the same railroad. While with the railroad, the in-house lawyer supervised this case. The railroad has moved to disqualify Burrow’s law firm. The court denied the motion, principally because it was satisfied that the former in-house lawyer would not reveal confidences about this case to Burrow’s lawyers in this case. The Northern District of Illinois had its own set of ethics rules, which included a liberal screening rule for lawyers changing firms – similar to the Illinois rule. While this case is not strictly about a lawyer changing firms, the court relied, in part, on the court’s screening rule.
Keane v. Northeast Illinois Regional Railroad Corp., 194 F. Supp. 2d 452 (N.D. Ill. 2002), was yet another action brought by the same law firm for another plaintiff. The former in-house lawyer had worked on that case, as well. The same motion was made and denied by a different judge. Here is another one,
Williams v. Northeast Illinois Regional Railroad Corp., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9743 (N.D. Ill. May 29, 2002). Different plaintiff; same result.
Jackson Nat. Ins. Co. v. Duane Morris & Heckscher, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. (The following summary is taken from an article in the November 11, 2000 online Law.com. To go to the article, click here.) Jackson National Insurance Company ("JNIC") had hired Holleb & Coff of Chicago to sue the Philadelphia law firm, Duane Morris & Heckscher. Duane Morris brought into its Chicago office ten lawyers from Holleb & Coff, at least one of whom had billed time on the JNIC matter. JNIC sued Duane Morris for an injunction prohibiting their bringing in the Holleb & Coff lawyers. According to the article, a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, has denied the injunction because Duane Morris had successfully screened the new lawyers under Illinois' pro-screening rule. The case is one of the few conflict of interest cases decided not in the context of a motion to disqualify, but rather in a suit for injunction. For other examples go to "Enjoining Conflicts" by clicking here.
Safe-T-Products, Inc. v. Learning Resources, Inc., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20540 (N.D. Ill. October 24, 2002). Lawyer worked on trademark matters at his old firm, including matters for the defendant in this case. He then moved to his new firm. After arriving at his new firm he filed this trademark case against the defendant. Two of defendant’s marks he did work on at his old firm are involved in this case. Six months after the case was filed, defendant moved to disqualify Lawyer and his new firm. The court disqualified Lawyer, finding what he had done at his old firm was substantially related to this case. The court in part relied on the “playbook view” of lawyer’s involvement. The court said that while working on defendant’s trademark matters at his old firm, Lawyer “likely obtained confidential information about Defendants' business practices that might be relevant to the case at hand.” The court was also influenced by the fact that Lawyer had actually worked on two marks relevant to this case while at the old firm (although the evidence was that this work was minimal).
The court refused to disqualify Lawyer’s entire new firm. The court based that decision on the fact that defendant waited six months before bringing the motion to disqualify. The court also found that Lawyer had not conveyed any of defendant’s confidences to anyone in the new firm. (Note: The Northern District of Illinois has its own set of ethics rules; however, it adopted the Illinois Rules approach and provides for screening of lawyers changing firms. Here, of course, the screen was not set up when the suit was filed. Without saying it in so many words, the court was giving the new firm a pass on this because of defendant's delay.)
Fish v. Hennessy,
2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119571 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 22, 2012). This is a suit
in which Fish is attempting to enforce a guarantee signed by Hennessy.
Law Firm began representing Fish in March 2012. Law Firm had been
representing Hennessy in an SEC investigation; that ceased in February
2012. The only lawyer working on the SEC matter left Law Firm in
January 2012. Hennessy moved to disqualify Law Firm in this case.
Applying Illinois' version of MR 1.10(b) according to its terms, the
magistrate judge denied the motion. In this opinion the district judge
affirmed.
PNC Bank, N.A. v. EP Curragh, LCC, 2019 IL App (1st) 181287-U
(Ill. App. July 26, 2019). Lateral Lawyer ("LL") is in the law firm
representing PNC ("Firm B"). LL had previously worked at a law firm
("Firm A") then representing EP Curragh ("EP"). EP moved to disqualify
Firm B. The trial court granted the motion. In this opinion the
appellate court reversed. First, the court held that EP failed
procedurally to show that LL had worked on matters at Firm A that were
substantially related to this case. Second, the court held that, in any
event, Firm B had successfully screened LL from this matter
Non-Lawyers - Probably.
Kapco Mfg. Co. v. C&O, Inc., 637 F. Supp. 1231 (N.D. Ill. 1985); Chicago Bar Op. 5 (1994).
IndianaLawyers - Perhaps. Indiana has the Model Rule version of Rule 1.10(b).
XYZ, D.O. v. Sykes, 2014 Ind. App. LEXIS 557 (Ind. App. Nov. 13,
2014). Law Firm brought this medical malpractice case against Doctor.
Lawyer is employed at Law Firm. Before joining Law Firm Lawyer had
represented Doctor in six medical malpractice cases. In this case,
Doctor moved to disqualify Law Firm. In this opinion the appellate court reversed ruled
that under Indiana’s screening rule, a screen would not save Law Firm
because Lawyer had had “primary responsibility” in the six prior
malpractice cases. An Indiana appellate court had approved screening prior to the current version of Rule 1.10(b),
Gerald v. Turnock Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, LLC, 768 N.E.2d 498 (Ind. App. May 20, 2002). It ruled that the firm should be disqualified, because the screen was not timely. The court adopted the reasoning of the Seventh Circuit in approving screening. The following Indiana federal district court cases have also done so:
Chapman v. Chrysler Corp. 54 F. Supp. 2d 864 (S.D. Ind. 1999); and
Speedy v. Rexnord Corp. 54 F. Supp. 2d 867 (S.D. Ind. 1999).
IowaLawyers - Probably not. Rule 1.9(b). In
Doe v. Perry Community School District, 650 N.W.2d 594 (Iowa 2002), the court said it approved screening to cure imputed disqualification, but not where the matters in question are "substantially related." In other words, if a lawyer works on a case and then joins the firm on the other side, a screen will not cure his taint of the entire new firm, an odd conclusion. Then, you have
Sorci v. Iowa District Court for Polk County, 671 N.W.2d 482 (Iowa 2003), a case uniquely relevant to Iowa lawyers. It involves a lawyer who moved from government to a not-for-profit legal aid entity (move #1) that routinely was adverse to the office from which she left. The Iowa Supreme court upheld the trial court’s ruling that the not-for-profit be disqualified in many cases. The court went on to rule that the lawyer’s leaving the not-for-profit (move #2) resulted in saving the not-for-profit from disqualification in certain other cases. Iowa still has the older Model Code, but is considering a switch to the “Ethics 2000” version of the ABA Model Rules. Thus, the court was caught in an “in-between” situation, which clouds the significance of its rulings in this case. It did follow a Restatement section on lawyers who have left employment. It referred to Doe several times, but not in a way that sheds any real light on things.
Sequel to Sorci.
Iowa Sup. Ct. Att’y. Disciplinary Bd. v. Johnson, 728 N.W.2d 199 (Iowa 2007) . Lawyer went from being a member of the county prosecutor’s staff to the not-for-profit agency that advised on the appointment of guardians ad litem in juvenile cases. In this opinion the court reaffirmed that a screen would work for cases in which she had been involved while with the county. However, because she personally involved herself in two cases upon she had worked while with the county, she should be publicly reprimanded.
Engineered Products Co. v. Donaldson Co., 290 F. Supp. 2d 974 (N.D. Iowa 2003). In this patent infringement case there was a dispute about whether the plaintiff’s lawyer had a conflict of interest. Carlson’s problem was that he used to represent Donaldson while at his prior firm, Merchant & Gould (“M&G”) in Minneapolis. He tried patent cases for Donaldson and got to know Donaldson’s executives. Carlson claimed he had never heard of this case until after he left M&G and EPI came to him and asked him to replace EPI’s other counsel. The extent of Carlson’s knowledge about Donaldson was hotly disputed. The magistrate judge accepted Carlson’s statement that he knew nothing about this case while at M&G but disqualified him anyway. The magistrate did not make a “playbook” analysis, but rather applied a presumption that Carlson had Donaldson’s secrets while at M&G. The court further held that the presumption was not rebuttable. The magistrate, basing his decision on the appearance-of-impropriety test (this is Iowa, remember), granted the motion to strike Carlson’s pro hac vice status.
KansasLawyers - Probably not. Rule 1.10(b).
See Lansing-Delaware Water Dist. v. Oak Lane Park, Inc., 808 P.2d 1369 (Kan. 1991);
Parker v. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft, 781 P.2d 1099 (Kan. 1989);
Graham v. Wyeth Laboratories, 906 F.2d 1419 (10th Cir. 1990);
Pacific Employers Ins. Co. v. P.B. Hoidale Co., 796 F. Supp. 1428 (D. Kan. 1992); Kan. Op. 90-005 (1991).
Non-Lawyers - No.
Zimmerman v. Mahaska Bottling Co., 19 P.3d 784 (Kan. 2001); Kansas Op. 90-5 (1991).
KentuckyLawyers - Probably. Rules 1.9(b) and 1.10(d).
Sixth Circuit applies ethics rules and disqualifies law firm. National Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Alticor, Inc., 466 F.3d 456 (6th Cir. 2006), modified, 472 F.3d 436 (6th Cir. 2007).
U.S. v. Anis Chalhoub, M.D., 2017 WL 4583250 (E.D. Ky. Oct. 13,
2017). Lawyer A and Lawyer B, both members of Law Firm, appeared for
Defendant in this healthcare fraud criminal case. Lawyer A was
disqualified because he had earlier represented Defendant’s employer.
Lawyer B had not joined Law Firm until after that representation had
ended. After Lawyer A was disqualified, Law Firm set up a screen and so
notified its former employer client. Nevertheless, the government moved
to disqualify Lawyer B and all of Law Firm. In this opinion the court
reviewed Kentucky’s screening requirements and Law Firm’s screening
procedures in detail, and denied the motion.
Republic Services, Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77363 (E.D. Ky. Oct. 20, 2006). In this case the plaintiff has sued several related insurance companies for the way they handled the plaintiff’s workmen’s compensation matters. Lawyer, one of lawyers appearing in this case for Firm B, was formerly at Firm A (Firm A is not in this case). While at Firm A Lawyer did work for several of the insurance company defendants in this case. For this reason the defendants moved to disqualify Lawyer and Firm B in this case. In this opinion the court granted the motion. The court first found that, although Lawyer did not work on workmen’s compensation matters at Firm A, he did gain “playbook” (our word – actually, Wolfram’s word) information about the defendants. Thus, the court held that Lawyer was personally disqualified in this case, pursuant to Kentucky Rule 1.9(a). The court went on to hold that under Kentucky Rule 1.10(a) Firm B was also disqualified. Kentucky is a screening state; however, it appears that Lawyer was not only not screened from this case, he was one of the plaintiff’s lawyers in this case. Another Firm B lawyer, who also formerly handled matters for defendants at Firm A, was screened from this case. However, because of the ruling disqualifying Lawyer and Firm B, there was no need to consider the efficacy of the screen.
United States v. Villaspring Health Care Center, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129933 (E.D. Ky. Nov. 7, 2011). A state assistant AG ("Lawyer") was involved in the investigation of Health Co. After assembling the information, Lawyer met with the U.S. Attorney's office to enable that office to seek civil damages. Lawyer left the state and joined Law Firm. In this case Lawyer is opposing the U.S. on behalf of Health Co. The U.S. moved to disqualify Lawyer, Law Firm, and Lawyer's co-counsel from another firm. In this opinion, applying Kentucky's version of MR 1.11, the court granted the motion as to Lawyer and Law Firm. The court denied the motion regarding co-counsel, applying the majority rule that the movant must show that co-counsel received confidential information from the disqualified lawyer. In a side-show Lawyer defended the motion, in part, by having obtained an opinion from the local bar ethics "hotline." The court rejected the opinion because Lawyer had not been completely forthcoming with the Bar when seeking the opinion.
McClain v. Wysong, No. 3:21-CV-00080-BJB (W.D. Ky. May 18, 2021).
Plaintiff moved to disqualify Defendant's law firm
because a member of that firm had represented Plaintiff in an earlier
matter. The magistrate judge's rationale for denying that motion was
that the lawyer representing Plaintiff had been screened from this case.
The court cites Ky. Rule 1.10(d), which allows screening to qualify a
firm even though a member of the firm did, while at the firm, represent
the opposing party. The ABA Model Rule 1.10(a)(2) refers to "a prior
firm" and has been understood to apply to lawyers' changing firms.
Non-Lawyers - Probably. Ky. Op. E-308 (1985).
LouisianaLawyers - Probably not. Rule 1.10(b).
But, see Petrovich v. Petrovich, 556 So. 2d (La. App.), cert. denied, 559 So. 2d 1377 (1990). The court did not recognize a screen in
Green v. Administrators of Tulane Educational Fund, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 769 (E.D. La. 1998).
In re Lawrence, 884 So. 2d 561 (La. 2004), is a case in which the moving lawyer's new firm tried to avoid a disqualification by showing that the lawyer really knew nothing about the case in question. While an associate at the Windhorst firm, John Lawrence represented Allison Curtis, a plaintiff in a personal injury case. The Aubert firm defended the case. While the case was pending, Lawrence moved to the Aubert firm. Daryl Higgins, an associate at the Windhorst firm, took over Ms. Curtis’ case. When Higgins looked at Lawrence’s time records, he noted that Lawrence had recorded 15 hours on all sorts of tasks, including interviewing Ms. Curtis. Higgins then made a motion to disqualify the Aubert firm. As part of its response, the Aubert firm produced Lawrence’s affidavit, which stated that Lawrence had really worked only one hour on the case and had learned nothing important from Ms. Curtis. As to the time discrepancies, Lawrence stated that he had “padded” his time, because that is what he thought his firm wanted him to do. On the day of the disqualification hearing the Aubert firm withdrew from the case. The court referred the time discrepancy matter to disciplinary authorities. Ultimately, in this opinion the court ruled that Lawrence should be suspended for three months because of his admission that he had padded his time sheets, in violation of Louisiana’s version of Model Rule 8.4(a)&(c).
Willis v. TRC Companies, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70776 (W.D. La. Sept. 28, 2006). While this case was pending, Lawyer A resigned from the firm representing the defendant (“Firm X”) and joined the firm representing the plaintiff (“Firm Y”). For this reason the defendant moved to disqualify Firm Y. While A did not work on this case at Firm X, another lawyer at Firm X (“Lawyer B”) filed an affidavit claiming that he, B, had had a wide-ranging conversation about the case with A, while A was at Firm X. A responded that he could not remember any such conversation. The court, in this opinion, denied the motion. The court noted that while Firm X could have produced time sheets verifying that the conversation had occurred, Firm X did not do so. As to that failure, the court wryly observed:
The undersigned finds that it is not merely unlikely, but well nigh impossible to believe that any substantive conversation involving information protected by Rule 1.6 would have occurred without at least one and probably both of the attorneys billing the client for their time.
The court also noted that Firm Y had screened A from this case. The court said that although screening in such cases has not been sanctioned by the Fifth Circuit, the fact that the firm had done it helped its position. The District Judge concurred at Willis v. TRC Companies, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89094 (W.D. La. Nov. 28, 2006), saying simply that the defendant had simply failed to establish that A learned anything "material" during the aforesaid conversation.
Swivel Rental Supply, LLC v. Petro Pull LLC, No. 6:18-1141 (W.D.
La. March 3, 2021). This is a patent infringement case involving swivel
stands and related equipment used in drilling and plugging oil and gas
wells. Plaintiff (patent holder) moved to disqualify lawyers Gibson and
Kreamer (with Firm B) from representing any defendant in this case.
Gibson and Kreamer had earlier been with Firm A, which had represented
Plaintiff in a case involving Plaintiff's alleged violation of certain
non-compete agreements. In this opinion the magistrate judge denied the
motion to disqualify. Gibson and Kreamer established that, while at Firm
A they had nothing to do with the non-compete litigation and learned
nothing about it. The court noted that the motion to disqualify was filed
two years after this case's inception and "just several months before"
trial. That, alone, would be grounds for denial of the motion.
MaineLawyers - Probably not. Rule 3.4(k).
See Casco Northern Bank v. JBI Ltd., 667 A.2d 856 (Me. 1995).
Doe v. Regional School Unit,
2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16700 (D. Me. Feb. 7, 2013). Firm A represents
the plaintiff, Firm B the defendant. While at Firm B Lawyer worked more
than a hundred hours on this case. Lawyer moved to Firm A. Firm A
erected a screen although Maine rules do not recognize non-consensual
screens. The defendant moved to disqualify Firm A. In this opinion the
magistrate judge denied the motion. The court said that the defendant
had not shown actual prejudice by Lawyer's move and seemed influenced by
Firm A's screen. The court's analysis of the extent and nature of
Lawyer's exposure to the defendant was very fact-intensive.Non-lawyers - Probably. Me. Op. 186 (July 22, 2004).
MarylandLawyers - Probably. Rule 1.10(b). The court in
Compass Marketing, Inc. v. Schering-Plough Corp., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49311 (D. Md. July 6, 2006), applied liberal screening rule according to its terms.
Stratagene v. Invitrogen Corp., 225 F. Supp. 2d 608 (D. Md. 2002). Vanessa Pierce changed firms. Her old firm represents a plaintiff in a patent infringement case. At her new firm Pierce is representing the defendant. The plaintiff moved to disqualify Pierce and her firm. While at her old firm, Pierce did work on a patent related to the one at issue in this case. A partner at her old firm said Pierce had unfettered access to the firm’s files on the patent in this case. Maryland’s Rule 1.10(b) recognizes screening, but the court noted that not only was Pierce not screened from this case, she was working on it. The court ordered that Pierce and her firm be disqualified.
Nes v. Anne Arundel County, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 7965 (4th Cir. April 22, 2004). Plaintiff sued defendant using Firm A. Defendant has at all times used Firm B. Plaintiff’s lawyer moved from Firm A to Firm C, and Firm C then became Plaintiff’s law firm. After that move Firm A merged into Firm B. Plaintiff then moved to disqualify Firm B. The trial court, satisfied that Firm B had complied with Maryland Rule 1.10(b), denied the motion. In this opinion the Fourth Circuit affirmed.
MassachusettsUnique rule allowing screening in some cases. Rule 1.10(d) (1) & (2). The rule seems to allow screening if the moving lawyer has "material" information about the matter from the old firm. The rule draws the line, however, where the information is "substantial material information" or where the moving lawyer had "substantial involvement" in the matter at the old firm. A federal district judge, in refusing to approve a screening arrangement, applied the rule according to its terms,
United States Filter Corp. v Ionics, Inc., 189 F.R.D. 26 (D. Mass. 1999). For cases pre-dating the new rules that expressed some approval of screening,
see First National Bank of Ipswich v. Peabody Gunner Hill, No. 92-5172-J (Sup. Ct. Aug. 2, 1993; and
Thomalen v. Marriott Corp., 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13650 (D. Mass. 1994).
In
Alere Inc. v. Church & Dwight Co., Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45475 (D. Mass. March 31, 2012), applying the rule according to its terms, the court denied a motion to disqualify.O'Donnell v. Robt. Half Int'l, Inc., No. 04-12719-NMG (D. Mass. June 29, 2010). Employment class action. Law Firm P represented the plaintiffs; Law Firm D represented the defendants. Lateral worked at Firm D for one summer and about nine months after law school. While at Firm D, Lateral had some exposure to this case. Lateral was laid off and shortly thereafter went to work at Firm P. While the conlficts issues raised by Lateral remained, this case was settled. Lateral eventually left Firm P. After Lateral departed, Firm P filed, in New Jersey, a very similar case against these defendants on behalf of other plaintiffs. Defendants in this case sought an order preventing Firm P from handling the New Jersey case. After carefully parsing Massachusetts' unique version of Model Rule 1.10, the district judge in this case denied the motion. The First Circuit summarily affirmed, Moore v. Robt. Half Int’l, Inc., No. 10-1809 (1st Cir. Feb. 22, 2011). Because of the uniqueness of the Massachusetts rule, we will not repeat the district court's rather lengthy analysis. Law Firms subject to that rule would do well to read the opinion.
Inverness Medical Switzerland GMBH v. Acon Laboratories, Inc., 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12332 (D. Mass. June 23, 2005). In this patent infringement action Firm A represents Plaintiff, and Firm B is local counsel for Defendant. While this case was pending, two lawyers moved from Firm B to Firm A. Accordingly, Defendant moved to disqualify Firm A. The only involvement of the two lawyers in this case at Firm B was to spend a limited amount of time analyzing whether Firm B had a conflict of interest. Both lawyers swore that they had no involvement in, or knowledge about, the merits of this action. The court enforced Massachusetts Rule 1.10(d)(1) as written. Because the information the moving lawyers had was not “material,” the court denied the motion.
Alnylam Pharm., Inc. v. Tekmira Pharm. Corp.,
2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136462 (D. Mass. Sept. 24, 2012). Firm A
represents Plaintiffs in this patent suit. Firm B represents
Defendant. Lawyer moved from Firm B to Firm A in 2012. While at Firm B
Lawyer worked on a Defendant matter and billed 137 hours to the matter
in one month. When Lawyer moved, Firm A set up a screen. Defendant
moved to disqualify Firm A. In this opinion the court denied the
motion. The court said that while Lawyer did work on a matter involving
a license agreement that was involved in this case, the license
agreement was not central to the issues in this case, and, thus, the
matters were not "substantially related."For an excellent guide to clearing conflicts for new lawyers, see Boston Op. 2004-1 (May 2004). Among other things, it discusses the extent to which a new lawyer should be able to identify his clients at his old firm. It also recommends that just one or several people at the new firm should be exposed to this information.
MichiganLawyers - Yes. Rule 1.10(d) (2). See Michigan Op. R-4 (1989).
Town & Country Apartments v. City of Wixom, 2003 Mich. App. LEXIS 898 (Mich. App. April 8, 2003). In this property tax appeal case, the lawyer at his new firm signed a motion for extension of time to file and exchange a valuation disclosure. The court held that the firm should be disqualified.
Sixth Circuit says that ethics rules control. National Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Alticor, Inc., 466 F.3d 456 (6th Cir. 2006), modified, 472 F.3d 436 (6th Cir. 2007) . The Michigan rule requires anyone relying upon a screen to notify the tribunal. Because a law firm failed to do it here, the court held the screen to be ineffective. Other cases holding that failure to promptly notify the tribunal invalidates screen in Michigan are
Town & Country Apts. v. City of Wixom, 2003 Mich. App. LEXIS 898 (Mich. App. Apr. 8, 2003); and
Cobb Publ. Inc. v. Hearst Corp., 891 F. Supp. 388 (E.D. Mich. 1995).
Shaw v. London Carriers, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17686 (W.D. Mich. March 1, 2010). While it is not clear from this very brief opinion, it appears that the plaintiff's law firm attempted to set up a screen for a new lawyer pursuant to Michigan Rule 1.10, but failed to notify the court as required by the rule. For that reason the magistrate judge disqualified the law firm. In this opinion the district judge affirmed.
Former Judge. WNC Housing LP v. Sherborne Dev. Co. LLC, 2016 WL 743368 (Mich.
App. Unpub. Feb. 23, 2016). In a brief discussion of Michigan’s
former-judge screening rule, which requires “prompt” notification, the
court held that a three-month delay in making the notification is not
enough, without a showing of harm, to disqualify the former judge’s new
law firm.
Non-Lawyers - Probably. Mich. Ops. RI-284 (1996) & RI-115(1992).
MinnesotaLawyers – No.
Lennartson v. Anoka-Hennepin Independent School District No. 11, 662 N.W.2d 125 (Minn. 2003). Minnesota has a harsh anti-screening version of Rule 1.10 similar to Massachusetts’ version of Rule 1.10, and to the effect of the New York Court of Appeals’ Kassis decision (see New York below). The Minnesota rule is identical to Restatement Section 124. In this decision the Minnesota Supreme Court has held that the rule means what it says. A lawyer had taken a deposition at her old firm in a case against what has become her new firm. She had read the entire file in preparation for the deposition. When she changed firms, the new firm erected a screen. Her old client moved to disqualify the new firm. The trial court granted the motion. The appellate court reversed. The Supreme Court reversed the appellate court.
Fant v. City of Ferguson, 2017 WL 3392073 (E.D. Mo. Aug. 7,
2017). For several years Lawyer worked at Firm 1. While there he worked
on cases involving several of the plaintiffs in this case. Lawyer moved
to Firm 2 in April 2017. Firm 2 represents the defendant in this case.
Firm 2, at some point, erected a screen between Lawyer and this case.
The plaintiffs moved to disqualify Firm 2 in this case. In this opinion
the court granted the motion. The court noted that Missouri is not a
screening state.
Mediator. Bradley v. Kelley, 2014 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 743 (Minn. App.
July 21, 2014). Plaintiff sued Defendants for trespass of Plaintiff’s
easement. Defendants retained Lawyers X and Y to represent them. The
case was mediated. Mediator was a member of Law Firm ABC. After the
mediation concluded, Lawyers X and Y joined Firm ABC. Plaintiff moved to
disqualify Firm ABC. The trial court denied the motion. In this opinion
the appellate court affirmed. The court noted that, while the screen
separating the mediator from Lawyers X and Y was informal, it complied
with Minnesota’s version of MR 1.12. The mediator also averred that he
shared no information about the case with Lawyers X and Y.
MississippiLawyers - Probably not. Rule 1.10(b). But, in
Mississippi State Dept. of Health v. Singing River Hospital, No. 1998-CC-00968 (Miss.), the court approved a screen. Also see
Aldridge v. State, 583 So. 2d 203 (Miss. 1991), which involved a public defender who became a prosecutor while one of his appointed cases was pending. The court held this should not disqualify the entire prosecutor’s office if the office could show an effective screen.
Non-lawyers - Watch out. The court in
Owens v. First Family Fin. Services, Inc., 379 F. Supp. 2d 840 (S.D. Miss. 2005), expressed hostility to screening for non-lawyers. More recently, the Mississippi Bar expressed approval of screening of non-lawyers in Miss. Op. 258 (Dec. 1.
2011).
MissouriLawyers - Probably not. Rule 1.10(b), Mo. Op. 2005-0030 (undated), and Mo. Op. 2003-0007 (undated).
But, see School Dist. of Kansas City v. AcandS, Inc., 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10009 (W.D. Mo. 1989); and
Hallmark Cards, Inc. v. Hallmark Dodge, Inc., 616 F. Supp. 516 (W.D. Mo. 1985).
In
East Maine Baptist Church v. Regions Bank, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76430 (E.D. Mo. Oct. 12, 2007), the court held that if the moving lawyer actually represented the client at the old firm, the entire new firm would be disqualified without regard to whether the lawyer had learned any confidences.
Commonwealth Title Ins. Co. v. St. Johns Bank & Trust Co., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87151 (E.D. Mo. Sept. 22, 2009). The facts are complex, so we will try to simplify things. This suit was filed by the plaintiff ("InsCo") in late 2008. Law Firm A appeared for the defendant ("Bank"). In early 2009 Law Firm A merged with Law Firm B, resulting in Law Firm AB. Firm B was not in this case. However, Firm B was representing InsCo in at least one other matter at the time of the AB merger. Moreover, Firm B had represented InsCo, and InsCo's corporate affiliates in a number of former matters. InsCo moved to disqualify AB in this case, and, in this opinion, the court granted the motion. The judge could not bring himself to forgive the current client conflict. That wasn't all. The judge felt the situation was aggravated by the former representations, which involved litigation not dissimilar to this case.
Bayes v. Biomet, Inc., No. 4:13-cv-00800-SRC (E.D. Mo. Nov. 12,
2020). Product liability case involving an allegedly defective
hip-implant system. Manufacturer/Defendant ("ManDef") moved to
disqualify Law Firm for Plaintiffs ("Firm 2") because Lawyer moved from
ManDef's law firm ("Firm 1") to Firm 2. In this opinion the court denied
the motion. Missouri is not a screening state, and screening by Firm 2
did not even come up. The court's analysis is under Rule 1.9 and focuses
on whether what Lawyer worked on at Firm 1 was substantially related to
this case. The court applied the six-factor Carey test established in In re Carey, 89
S.W.3d 477 (Mo. 2002). Space will not permit repeating the court's
discussion of each of those factors, or a discussion of the facts of
this case in detail. The genesis of the motion was the fact that Lawyer
at Firm 1 had done entry-level associate work on cases involving
hip-implant systems of Zimmer Holdings. Zimmer was a direct competitor
of Biomet, Inc. Zimmer and Biomet merged. Then Lawyer left Firm 1 and
joined Firm 2. The system at issue in this case is not the system Lawyer
worked on for Zimmer. Yet, one could argue that all the stuff Lawyer
learned about Zimmer could slop over to the way the combined companies
are defending the technology in this case. After a fact-intensive
analysis the court said its denial was not a "close call," but rather a
"tactical matter [of ManDef] attempting to coerce a continuance of the
trial date."
Non-Lawyers - Probably. See Comment [4] to Missouri Rule 4-1.10(a).
Rittinger v. Healthy Alliance Ins. Co., 2016 WL 827960 (E.D. Mo.
March 3, 2016). The underlying issue was whether the judge should recuse
himself because one of his law clerks had a conflict of interest. The
plaintiff’s lawyer claimed that the clerk’s conflict should be imputed
to two other clerks and to the judge. In denying recusal, the court
responded that the conflicted clerk “has been isolated from this case.”
MontanaLawyers - Probably. Rule 1.10(c)(1).
Krutzfeldt Ranch, LLC v. Pinnacle Bank, 2012 Mont. LEXIS 15 (Mont. Jan. 31, 2012). In this case Borrowers sued Bank for breach of a loan agreement. Borrowers' lawyer retained Tax Lawyer to advise Borrowers on how to structure a possible settlement. Without warning to Borrowers, Tax Lawyer joined the law firm representing Bank ("Bank Firm"). When Borrowers received an announcement of this change, they immediately moved to disqualify Bank Firm. The trial court denied the motion, holding that Borrowers were former clients of Tax Lawyer and that Bank Firm's screen of Tax Lawyer prevented Bank Firm's disqualification. In this opinion the supreme court reversed. After analyzing what transpired when Tax Lawyer joined Bank Firm, the court concluded that the Borrowers remained clients when the move occurred. Thus, Bank Firm's disqualification became "automatic." The court also added that even under a former client analysis, the screen erected by Bank Firm was not timely.
Stimson Lumber Co. v. International Paper Coa., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3769 (D. Mont. January 14, 2011). This is a caricature of a screening case. The lawyer in question had actually worked on this case. When challenged by the former client, the lawyer withdrew, and his firm set up a screen. In this opinion a magistrate judge granted a motion to disqualify, primarily because the screen was untimely. The court also noted that the lawyer was still in his firm's building and was in "close proximity" to the lawyers working on this case.
Look v. McGowan, No. DA 11-0700 (Mont. Feb. 21, 2023) One of
Look's lawyers withdrew and joined the law firm representing the
McGowans ("Law Firm"). Law Firm conceded the need to withdraw because of
the migratory lawyer. Law Firm contacted several law firms about
substituting for the McGowans. Look moved to disqualify any law firm
contacted by Law Firm. In this opinion the court denied that motion
because of Look's "unsupportable accusations of ethical misconduct."
Evidently, Look failed to show that Law Firm passed along any of the
migratory lawyer's information gathered while representing Look. Kind of
a food fight over who said what to whom, with the court participating.
NebraskaLawyers - Probably not. Rule 1.9(b).
See State of Nebraska ex rel. FirsTier Bank, N.A. v. Buckley, 503 N.W.2d 838 (Neb. 1993).
Non-Lawyers - Probably. In
Creighton Univ. v. Hickman, 512 N.W.2d 374 (Neb. 1994), the court said no screening for non-lawyers. Neb. Op. 94-4 followed, providing the same. In 2005 Nebraska adopted a version of Model Rule 1.9, which provided, at Rule 1.9(e), that "support persons" could be screened.
NevadaLawyers - Probably. Rule 1.10(e).
See Edwards v. 360 [degrees], 189 F.R.D 433 (D. Nev. 1999);
Coles v. Arizona Charlie's, 1997 WL 465416 (D. Nev. 1997);
Ciaffone v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Ct., 945 P.2d 950 (Nev. 1997); and
Ogilvie v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Ct., No. 28374 (Nev. 1996).
Gonzales v. Shotgun Nev. Invs., LLC, 2016 WL 4548675 (D. Nev. Aug. 31, 2016). The key finding invalidating a screen was that the lawyer's earlier work for the moving party had been "substantial," with the meaning of Nevada Rule 1.10.
Lemus v. Olaveson, 2016 WL 2930699 (D. Nev. May 19, 2016). Auto
accident case. Lawyer was “intimately involved” in defending the case.
Lawyer moved to the law firm representing the plaintiff (“Law Firm”).
Defendant moved to disqualify Law Firm. In this opinion the court
granted the motion. First, the court held that a screen would not work
because Lawyer had “a substantial role in or primary responsibility” in
representing the defendant, thus invalidating the screen under Nevada
Rule 1.10(e). Second, the court held that Law Firm made only a cursory
showing of a screen. Among other things, the court referred to the
firm’s “small size.”
Octaform Sys., Inc. v. Johnston, 2023 WL 3645965 (D. Nev. May 25,
2023). Trade secret case. Firm P represents Plaintiffs; Firm D
represents Defendants. Lawyer was an associate at Firm D from 2015 to
2018. Lawyer left Firm D in 2018 to join Firm C (C not in this case).
Lawyer left Firm C to join Firm P in 2022. Because Lawyer had worked on
this case at Firm D, Firm P screened Lawyer from this case.
Nevertheless, Defendants moved to disqualify Firm P. In this opinion the
magistrate judge denied the motion to disqualify. Because Lawyer did a
lot of work on this case at Firm D, the judge found that Lawyer's role
was "substantial." (The Nevada screening rule normally invalidates a
screen when the lateral's work was "substantial.") However, given the
totality of all the circumstances, the court felt "disqualification
would be an extreme and unnecessary sanction here." The court relied
heavily on Nevada Yellow Cab Corp. v. 8th Judicial Dist. Ct., 152 P.3d 737 (Nev. 2007) (not a screening case). [Our
note: There were lots of circumstances that we will not discuss here.
If you wish to defeat disqualification in the face of a "substantial"
finding, reading the opinion would be a good start.]
"Settlement Judge." Ryan's Express Trans. Svcs., Inc. v. Amador Stage Lines, Inc.,
2012 Nev. LEXIS 66 (Nev. June 14, 2012). Lawyer A from Law Firm acted
as a "settlement judge" in an attempt to settle this case. That was
unsuccessful. Subsequently Lawyer B, representing the defendant, joined
Law Firm. The plaintiff moved the court in this appeal to disqualify
Law Firm. In this opinion the court remanded the case to the trial
court to make a factual determination whether the screen Law Firm
erected was adequate to prevent Law Firm's disqualification. The court
said Nevada Rule 1.12(c) applied, and the court laid out the principles
that should guide the trial court in making its ruling. Fairly routine
analysis of screening.New Horizon Kids Quest III, Inc. v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., No.
69920 (Nev. April 6, 2017). Lawyer worked at Firm 1 for a time,
including when Firm 1 represented New Horizon. Lawyer moved to Firm 2,
which is adverse to New Horizon in this case. Lawyer was put to work on
this case. New Horizon moved to disqualify Firm 2. The trial court
denied the motion. In this opinion the supreme court affirmed (denied
mandamus). The submissions established that Lawyer did nothing for New
Horizon at Firm 1 and learned nothing about New Horizon while at Firm 1.
Braxton v. Clark County School Dist., No. 2:23-cv-00144-JAD-MDC
(D. Nev. June 6, 2024). Plaintiff, represented by Law Firm, has sued
District because of alleged abuse of Plaintiff's child. Law Firm has
hired Lawyer, formerly an in-house lawyer for District. District moved
to disqualify Law Firm. While at District, Lawyer had no involvement
with Plaintiff's child, but did advise District on laws and regulations
involved in this case. In this opinion the magistrate judge recommended
that Law Firm be ordered to screen Lawyer from this case but that Law
Firm not be disqualified.
Non-Lawyers - Yes. In Leibowitz v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court of Nevada, 78 P.3d 515 (Nev. 2003), the court reversed its earlier holding in Ciaffone v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Ct., 945 P.2d 950 (Nev. 1997).
Nelson v. 8th Dist. Ct. of Nev., No. 84006 (Nev. Dec. 22, 2022).
Paralegal worked on this case at Firm 1. Firm 1 represents Plaintiff.
Paralegal moved to Firm 2, which represents Defendants. Plaintiff moved
to disqualify Firm 2. The trial court denied the motion. In this opinion
the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not
abuse its discretion in finding that Paralegal did not disclose
anything about the case to Firm 2, and that Firm 2's screening was
adequate.
New HampshireLawyers - Probably not. Rule 1.10(b).
State of New Hampshire v. Addison,
2014 N.H. LEXIS 27 (N.H. March 7, 2014) Lawyer worked for an appellate
defender’s office. While there she worked on the appeal of Party X, who
had been sentenced to death. During the pendency of the case Lawyer
joined the attorney general’s office. Party X moved to disqualify the
entire AG’s office. In this opinion the court ruled that a screen would
prevent disqualification of others in the office. In addition to the
screen, the court noted that a lawyer working on the appeal, not the
trial, would not be privy to the kinds of confidences the trial counsel
would have gained.New JerseyLawyers - Probably. New Rule 1.10 allows screening provided moving lawyer did not play a "primary role" in the matter in question at the old firm. Earlier authorities that were negative on screening were New Jersey Op. 667 (1992); Cardona v. General Motors Corp., 945 F. Supp. 968 (D.N.J. 1996); and Dewey v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 536 A.2d 243 (N.J. 1988).
Gohlke v. Trinitas Reg'l Med. Ctr., 2023 WL 738305 (N.J. App.
Div. Unpub. Nov. 8, 2023). The comings and goings in this case are way
too complex to detail here. The crux of the case is whether a law firm,
seeking to avoid a disqualification, because of a migratory lawyer, has
satisfied the screening requirements of New Jersey Rule 1.10(c). The
rule requires "written notice" to the other side. The law firm did not
give written notice, but claims that the circumstances of the lawyer
joining the firm should have been obvious to all concerned. Nothing
doing, said the appellate court. Written notice means written notice.
Mody v. Quiznos Franchise Co.,
2012 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1719 (N.J. App. July 18, 2012). Lawyer
moved to the plaintiffs' law firm. At his prior firm Lawyer had done
substantial work for the defendants in nearly identical cases. The
defendants moved to disqualify the plaintiffs' firm. The trial court
denied the motion. In this opinion the appellate court reversed.
First, in a fact intensive discussion of Lawyer's work for the
defendants the court found that Lawyer had had "primary responsibility"
for the earlier cases within the meaning of New Jersey's version of MR
1.10. Second, the court rejected the plaintiffs' firm's screen as being
oral rather than written as required by the rule.In re Gabapentin Patent Lit., 407 F. Supp. 2d 607 (D.N.J. 2005). This is a multi-district patent infringement case. Law Firm P represented one of the plaintiffs. There are five defendants, D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5. Law Firm D represents D1. Lawyers X and Y were with Firm D and had principal responsibility for the representation of D1 in this case. D1 had a joint defense agreement with D2, D3, D4 and D5. While with Firm D, and pursuant to the joint defense agreement, X and Y became privy to many confidences of the other defendants. X and Y left Firm D to join Firm P. Firm P obtained D1’s consent to bring in X and Y, provided a screen be created. That happened, but then D2, D3, D4, and D5, parties to the joint defense agreement, but not parties to D1’s consent, moved to disqualify Firm P. The court granted the motion. The essential holding was that because X and Y had actually become privy to the defendants’ confidences pursuant to the joint defense agreement, Firm P should be disqualified, notwithstanding the screen and D1’s consent. This is consistent with the majority rule in the joint defense cases.
Opalinski v. Robert Half Int'l, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28095 (D.N.J. March 18, 2011). This is a Fair Labor Standards Act case brought by former employees of the defendants regarding the defendants' alleged failure to pay overtime. Lawyer A, a member of a small firm ("Firm A"), sought leave to appear in this case pro hac vice for the plaintiffs. The defendants objected alleging that Lawyer A and Firm A had a conflict of interest. The alleged conflict concerned Lawyer B. First, Lawyer B had, for a brief time worked at Firm B, which represents the defendants in this case. Earlier Firm B had represented the defendants in a very similar FSLA case in Massachusetts ("the Mass. case"). While at Firm B Lawyer B worked 7 hours on the Mass. case. Lawyer B then moved to Firm A, which was representing the plaintiffs in the Mass. case. Firm A erected a screen between Lawyer B and the Mass. case. Nevertheless, the defendants in the Mass. case moved to disqualify Firm A in that case. The court in the Mass. case granted the motion. Lawyer B left Firm A before Lawyer A sought leave to appear in this case. Nevertheless, the defendants in this case objected to Lawyer A's admission. The magistrate judge granted Lawyer A's admission. First, the court held that its ruling was based upon New Jersey's version of Model Rule 1.10(b) (Lawyer B had already left Firm A, and no one remaining at Firm A had any knowledge of defendants' confidences in the Mass. case.). Second, the magistrate judge held that it would not apply Massachusetts ethics rules, which are different from New Jersey's, in this New Jersey case. It is interesting to note that one of the facts that influenced the Massachusetts judge in disqualifying Firm A in the Mass. case was that, while at Firm B, in addition to working 7 hours on the case, Lawyer B had attended a meeting of the practice group that was handling the Mass. case. In this opinion the district judge affirmed the magistrate judge.
Martin v. Atlanticare,
2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122987 (D.N.J. Oct. 25, 2011). Lawyer moved from
the firm representing the defendant ("Old Firm") to the firm
representing the plaintiff ("New Firm"). While at Old Firm Lawyer
worked extensive hours on this case. New Firm claims to have screened
Lawyer from the case, but the screen was never memorialized in writing.
In this opinion the magistrate judge granted a motion to disqualify
Lawyer. In a fact-intensive analysis the judge ruled that Lawyer had
"primary responsibility" on the case at Old Firm, within the meaning of
N.J. Rule 1.10. The court also ruled that New Firm's screen was
inadequate, in any event. [The opinion is a pretty good analysis of "primary responsibility," a concept included in the screening rules of several states.] Ford Motor Co. v. Edgewood Properties, Inc.,
2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123348 (D.N.J. Oct. 25, 2011). Parties A and B
are in an environmental dispute with Ford, including this case. Lawyer
initially represented Party A involving this matter while at Firm A.
Parties A and B had entered into a common interest agreement, pursuant
to which Lawyer became privy to Party B's confidences. Lawyer left Firm
A and joined Firm B. Firm B appeared for Ford. Parties A and B moved
to disqualify Firm B. In this opinion the court granted the motion. In
an unremarkable substantial-relationship analysis the court found
Lawyer's work for Parties A and B to be substantially related to this
case. Not only did Lawyer directly formerly represent Party A, Lawyer
had had an "implied attorney-client relationship" with Party B because
of the terms of the common interest agreement and the fact that Lawyer
became privy to Party B's confidences. Although Firm B purported to
establish a screen, the court said the screen would not work because
Lawyer had been primarily responsible for the work for Party A in the
earlier representation. Lastly, pursuant to Rule 1.10, the court found
that the entire Firm B should be disqualified.Kane Properties, L.L.C. v. City of Hoboken, 2011 N.J. Super.
LEXIS 204 (N.J. App. Div. Nov. 16, 2011). A land owner ("Owner")
obtained zoning variances from a board of adjustment. An objector
("Objector") appealed to the city council. When the matter reached the
city council, the lawyer for Objector ("Lawyer") had become a part-time
lawyer for the council. Lawyer recused himself from the council's
deliberation but attended meetings where the matter was discussed,
allowed one of his memoranda to be used by substitute counsel, and gave
procedural advice on the matter to the council. The council reversed
the board of adjustment. Based upon Lawyer's "limited" involvement in
the council's deliberations, the appellate court, in this opinion,
reversed and remanded so that the council could consider the record
without Lawyer.
Electronic File and Rule 1.10(b). Estate of Kennedy v. Stuart A. Rosenblatt, C.P.A., 2016 WL
6543629 (N.J. App. Div. Nov. 4, 2016). This opinion’s description of the
parties and the procedure is somewhat befuddling (to us, at least).
Therefore, we will take extreme liberties in simplifying the facts in
order to reach the key issue for this audience: the application of N.J.
Rule 1.10(b) (same as M.R. 1.10(b)) to electronic files remaining in the
law firm when the lawyers handling the matter in question have left,
taking the paper files with them. Law Firm defended a lawyer (“Defendant
Lawyer”) in a prior malpractice case (“Prior Case”). After Prior Case
was dismissed, the lawyer representing the plaintiff in Prior Case
(“Lawyer”) joined Law Firm. Lawyer then filed the same case as before,
including against Defendant Lawyer (“This Case”). In This Case Defendant
Lawyer moved to disqualify Law Firm. Law Firm defended the motion
because the lawyers working on Prior Case had left and taken the paper
files with them. The issue was whether the electronic files left behind
disqualified Law Firm under Rule 1.10(b)(2). The trial court granted the
motion. In this opinion the appellate court reversed “conditionally”
and remanded for further proceedings. Law Firm had erected a “screen”
around the electronic files. However, the court said that if someone in
Law Firm looked at the substance of the retained electronic files, Law
Firm should be disqualified. If, however, all Law Firm lawyers did was
look at metadata to determine whether anybody in Law Firm had looked at
the files substantively, then the Law Firm should not be disqualified.
The appellate court felt that New Jersey’s recent adoption of its
version of M.R. 1.6(b)(5) (N.J. Rule 1.6(d)(5)), helped inform its
decision here, even though the N.J. version came after the events in
question. The opinion also discusses the nuts and bolts procedure that
should be followed in resolving the remaining issues, and directs Law
Firm to delete any electronic files remaining.
Non-Lawyers - Probably. N.J. Ops. 633 (1989) & 665 (1992).
New MexicoLawyers - Maybe. Rule 16-110(B).
Garcia v. Martinez, No. 1:19-cv-00641-JAP-LF (D.N.M. June 15,
2020). Firm 1 represents Plaintiff. Firm 2 represents Defendants. While
this case was pending, Lawyer left Firm 1 and joined Firm 2. While at
Firm 1 Lawyer did some work on this case for Plaintiff, during which he
learned confidences of Plaintiff. When Lawyer went to Firm 2, he was
subject to a screen. Plaintiff moved to disqualify Firm 2. In this
opinion the magistrate judge denied the motion. The primary issue was
whether Lawyer played a "substantial role" in this case while at Firm 1.
While Lawyer did bill several hours to this case and did learn
confidences, the court found no "substantial role." Lawyer "did not
participate in fact discovery, expert witness preparation or discovery,
motions practice or trial preparations." Court distinguished Mercer, just below.
Roy D. Mercer, LLC v. Hon. Matthew G. Reynolds,
No 33,830 (N.M. Dec. 6, 2012). Lawyer, while at Law Firm A,
participated in this case for Party A. Lawyer went to Law Firm B, which
represented an opposing party in this case. Firm B erected a screen.
Nevertheless, in this opinion, the court applied New Mexico's version of
MR 1.10 according to its terms. The New Mexico rule says a screen will
not work where the moving lawyer had a "substantial role" in the matter
at the lawyer's first firm. The court found that the range of duties
that Lawyer had on this case at Firm A constituted a "substantial role" and disqualified Firm B.Non-Lawyers - Hard to say.
Ullman v. Denco, Inc., No. 14-cv-843 SMV/GBW (D.N.M. April 22, 2015). [
Note: we learned of this case in an email bulletin from Keith Swisher at dqed.com.]
Law Firms A & B are opposite in this case. B hired away A’s sole
paralegal, who had worked on this case. B set up a timely screen. A’s
client moved to disqualify B. In this opinion the magistrate judge
granted the motion. The judge recognized the majority rule that
non-lawyers may be screened where lawyers may not. However, the court
was influenced in this case primarily by the following: the minimal
prejudice to B’s client of disqualification; the importance of the
information the paralegal learned at A; the appearance to the public of
the timing of the hiring; and the size of B.
Home/Table of ContentsChanging Firms - Screening - Part II