DQ Risk: Representing Lawyers and Receiving Confidential Information About Their Clients

Although lawyers are generally excellent clients, they can come with risks, as the following California and other cases illustrate.  The …

DQ Case of the Week: The Down-But-Not-Out Appearance of Impropriety Standard

The disqualification case of the week comes from the Supreme Court of Missouri and centers on the resilient appearance of …

DQ Case of the Week: Outside General Counsel DQed for Representing Corporation and Shareholders in Close Corp Dispute

The New York Supreme Court disqualified a close corporation’s general counsel this past week for, in essence, failing to ask: …

DQ Case of the Week: Court Approves Use of Opponent’s Privileged Documents

When a lawyer receives and reviews the opponent’s confidential or privileged documents, the opponent will often file a motion to …

DQ Case of the Week: Prospective Clients, Financial Information, and the Appearance of Impropriety

A lawyer who consults with a prospective client about a divorce generally may not later represent the prospective client’s spouse …

Candidate for Strangest DQ Case

Although this disqualification occurred over two years ago, it still makes for interesting and unbelievable reading.  While conflicts of interest …

DQ Case of the Week: Mayer Brown Tested (and Ultimately Failed) the Limits of Implied Waiver

It has not been the best of times for Mayer Brown.  Last week, the Second Circuit held its (and Simpson …

Disqualifying Criminal Defense Counsel

In criminal cases, a lawyer is typically in jeopardy of disqualification in the following four ethical dilemmas: (1) when the …

A Timely Reminder of the Importance of Timely Screening

Duane Morris was recently reminded of the importance of erecting screens in a timely fashion.  From 2008 to 2012, lawyers …

A Firm’s Size Matters for Screening Purposes

In disqualification analysis, courts often scrutinize various aspects of a targeted lawyer’s firm or office.  Ordinarily though not exclusively, courts …

Disqualifying Arbitrators

Without purporting to cover arbitrator disqualification comprehensively in this single post, it highlights some general standards for disclosure and disqualification …

Nonlawyer Employees Causing Disqualification

When a lawyer or firm hires a non-lawyer employee who has previously worked in the legal industry, that new staff …

Lawyer Disqualification in the UK

Prof. Robert Flannigan just published an insightful piece on UK disqualification practice.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, solicitors face disqualification most commonly in …

The Many Ways to Get Disqualified Include Lying to Opponents and Judges

Disqualification is not reserved solely for conflicts of interest.  Instead, ten broad categories of misconduct may warrant disqualification.  A recent First …

Dropping a Client Like a “Hot Potato”

The current client conflict of interest rules are (unsurprisingly) more restrictive than the former client conflicts of interest rules. This …

Choice of Law and Self-Disqualifications

This unpublished federal decision raises two fascinating issues.  First, although styled as a motion to withdraw, it more accurately involved …

Advance Waivers of Future Conflicts (May) Defeat Disqualification

A recent published opinion in federal district court illustrates how an advance waiver can defeat a disqualification motion.  The client, …

Courts Consider Themselves When Deciding Disqualification Motions

In deciding whether to disqualify an attorney or firm, the final factors of focus are the courts themselves and, more …

Courts Often Examine the Challenged Lawyer’s Firm

In many disqualification cases, courts examine various characteristics of the lawyer’s firm.[1] Courts do so because often the dispute centers …

Courts Often Examine the Client Harm Before Ordering Disqualification

Courts will often examine two factors about the to-be-disqualified lawyer’s client: (1) the knowledge of the client (primarily whether the …