Lawyer Disqualification Makes the Wall Street Journal–Thrice

Lawyer disqualification issues normally do not end up in the Wall Street Journal (even on its law blog), but then …

Courts Scrutinize the Challenged Lawyer’s Conduct and Intent

Both the movant and, more obviously, the challenged lawyer face the most court scrutiny in disqualification analysis. This [post lists] …

Courts Scrutinize the Movant When Deciding Disqualification Motions

Disqualification analysis is unusual in part because the movant[1] is scrutinized just as closely as the lawyer whose conduct is …

The Appearance of Impropriety

Even if a lawyer’s or firm’s conduct does not violate the ethical rules, the lawyer may still be disqualified if …

Imputation

A lawyer’s associations with other lawyers and staff can cause disqualification issues, even if the lawyer has not personally committed …

Other Misconduct

Although it is not the most common basis for lawyer disqualification, an additional category—containing diverse forms of lawyer misconduct and …

Misconduct with Witnesses

Lawyers’ misconduct toward or with witnesses can lead to disqualification. This misconduct includes (but is not limited to) providing monetary …

“No Contact” Rule Violations

When a lawyer contacts a person (typically the opposing party or the opposing party’s employees) represented in a litigated matter, …

Receipt of Confidential, Privileged, or Stolen Information

Lawyers fairly often receive the other side’s privileged, confidential, or stolen information.[1] The other side might inadvertently send an otherwise …

Lawyers as Witnesses

As a very general rule, lawyers cannot be both an advocate and a witness in the same proceeding. Lawyers, of …

Former Client Conflicts

A conflict with the interests of a former client is one of the most frequent bases for a disqualification motion. …

Personal Interest Conflicts

Lawyers find themselves in various forms of conflicts of interest arising from their personal interests. For example, lawyers have their …

Government Faces Heavy Burden to Disqualify Defense Counsel as a Necessary Witness

A federal district court (E.D. Va.) recently provided a lengthy analysis of, and the rationales underlying, the lawyer-as-witness rule.  Of …

Concurrent Client Conflicts

One of the starkest bases for disqualification arises when the interests of one current client conflict with the interests of …

Medical Marijuana, Right to Counsel, and Standards of Review in Disqualification Cases

Lawyers for the medical marijuana industry have been the subject of ethics opinions (e.g., Ariz. Ethics Op. 11-01) and even …

Lawyer Disqualified for Attempting to Shift Sanctions to Client

The Washington Court of Appeals recently disqualified a lawyer, sua sponte, because the lawyer had argued on appeal that the …