Undivided Loyalty

The Lawyers' Manual on Professsional Conduct has a report on a recent decision of the Maine Supreme Court that provides an interesting analysis of the ethical duties owed to a former client under Rule 1.9. The attorney had represented a client in an accident case that lasted over two years and was settled on the day of jury selection. The lawyer is the cousin of the client's husband. When she asked him to represent her in a prospective divorce action, he declined. She proceeded with a different lawyer. The husband then retained the lawyer-cousin, which resulted in a disqualification motion.

The court affirmed the trial court's disqualification order. Not only had the lawyer received confidential information about the former client's medical history, but "also acquired information about the way in which [she] handled the litigation process." The insights concerning her "ability to testify under oath, her reactions to her adversary, her patience with the protracted process, her ability to accept compromise, her ability to handle stress, and the way in which she relates to her attorney...would be detrimental to her interests in another litigation, particulary in a contentious divorce action " and justified disqualification. (Mike Frisch)