Trends and Analysis on Significant Issues Related to Law Firm Transitions, Partner Departures and Dissolutions

There has been a lot of recent press about the validity of Unfinished Business Claims in California (also known as Clawback claims) following a ruling earlier this year by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali in San Francisco related to the Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White LLP (“Howrey”) bankruptcy.  At issue, was whether the trustee of […]

An interesting ethics issue is being considered by the Virginia State Bar with respect to whether and how a firm can continue to use its URL after a partner departure when the URL contained the former partner’s name in it and the firm’s name has changed.  At present, the Virginia State Bar Standing Committee on […]

According to the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Professional Guidance Committee, ethical rules permit a law firm to review a departing partner’s emails in order to determine what emails should be forwarded to the departing partner and what emails relate to current firm matters of which the law firm should be aware.  (See Philadelphia Bar Association Professional Guidance […]

A significant issue for departing partners is to understand and evaluate the scope of any potential liability he or she may have to their former partnership once the departing partner provides notice of departure and dissociates with that partnership.  In some instances, partnership agreements set forth specific terms upon which a departing partner may continue […]

A departing partner must be familiar with and properly navigate California’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Civil Code Section 3246 et seq.)(“UTSA”), which governs misappropriation of trade secrets, when informing clients of a move to a new firm.  In the seminal 2004 case Reeves v. Hanlon (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1140, the California Supreme Court defined the scope of the […]

Not long ago client files consisted only of hard-copy documents in physical file folders and typically contained filed briefs, discovery, transcripts, correspondence and memoranda of law.  While there was a split in authority on whether attorney notes and drafts should be included as part of a client’s file, the California Rules of Professional Conduct states that essentially […]

A substantial body of case law and ethics opinions addressing the handling of client files has developed over the years surrounding the concept that a client’s file is a client’s property.  (Rose v. State Bar (1989) 49 Cal.3d 646.)  This notion is based on the underlying idea that clients may discharge an attorney at any time, […]

As a general rule under California law, contracts that restrict or penalize competition among former employees and employers are void and unenforceable under Business & Professions Code Section 16600.  In Edwards v. Arthur Andersen, the California Supreme Court examined the issue of whether or not there was a “narrow restraint” exception to this general rule, which would […]

Prior to considering departing from an existing partnership, a partner needs to give careful consideration and analysis to any non-compete agreement or restrictions on his/her right to practice law imposed by the existing partnership agreement. Understanding these types of provisions and their potential enforceability can properly shape a departing partners strategy for departure and help to minimize […]

The California Rules of Professional Conduct place restrictions on an attorney’s conduct in soliciting clients for employment.  The Rules define “solicitation” as “any communication concerning availability for professional employment of a member (of the State Bar of California) or law firm in which a significant motive is pecuniary gain,” whether in person or by telephone. (Cal. […]