Motions to disqualify opposing counsel for conflicts of interest occur often in litigation.  Responses to such motion usually focus on the merits of the conflict allegations.  However, it is important to know that the granting or denial of disqualification motions rests with the sound discretion o...

In this malpractice action, client sued both the new lawyer (Glover) and the old lawyer (Joel). Both are held responsible for missing the statute of limitation. The Court of Appeals reminded lawyers that an effective withdrawal requires not only court permission but a clear communication to the clie...

A lawyer for an entity in litigation, engages in solicitation when the lawyer contacts current or former employees to offer to represent them with payment by the entity.  Rivera v. Lutheran Medical Center, 866 N.Y.S. 2d 520 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Kings Cty. 2008), aff’d, 899 N.Y.S. 2d 859 (2d Dep’t 201...

 Imagine that an attorney receives notice from client that a malpractice suit is being considered and that attorney consults with in-house ethics counsel at his or her firm to understand how best to proceed before obtaining consent from the client or terminate representation; client later brings a ...

Aggregate settlements (Nonclass) are agreements involving multiple clients in which the terms of the settlement are interdependent. They involve complex ethical and practical issues. In addition, such cases often involve a large number of claimants and substantial amounts of money. Ethics advice is...

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) refers to various procedures other than litigation for resolving disputes. ADR comes in a wide variety of forms and procedures. The most common forms of ADR are arbitration and mediation, but there are many others such as med-arb, summary jury trials, mini-trials...