Federal Court Disqualifies In-House Counsel
The federal district court in Seattle recently issued a rare decision disqualifying in-house counsel from participating in a case that involved the lawyer’s corporate employer. Docklight Brands, Inc....
View ArticleIdaho Adopts Entire File Approach when Withdrawing
Under American Bar Association Model Rule 1.16(d), when a lawyer withdraws the lawyer is to surrender papers and property to which the client is entitled. Neither the ABA model rule nor most state...
View ArticleFederal Court Applies Attorney-Client Privilege to ‘Functional Employee’ of...
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington recently applied the attorney-client privilege to a “functional employee” of a corporate defendant. National Products, Inc. v. Innovative...
View ArticleCourt of Appeals Upholds Fee Allocation in Law Firm Separation Clause
In a case of first impression in Washington, Division I of the Court of Appeals recently found that a separation clause in a law firm employment agreement—allocating fees in cases handled at the firm...
View ArticleCourt of Appeals Cites ‘End of Engagement’ Letter in Dismissing Claim Against...
Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals recently relied on a law firm’s “end of engagement” letter to a former client in dismissing a claim by the former client against the firm as time-barred....
View ArticleFederal Court Surveys Need for Expert to Support Legal Malpractice Claim
The federal district court in Spokane recently surveyed Washington law on the need for an expert to support a legal malpractice claim. Peterson v. Best, 2023 WL 8791674 (E.D. Wash. Dec. 19, 2023)...
View ArticleConfronting a Crisis: The State of Public Defense
Public defenders in Washington state are facing a crisis due to excessive workload, inadequate funding, and a shortage of lawyers. Efforts are underway to address these issues, including a study to...
View ArticleCourt of Appeals Discusses Emotional Distress Damages for Legal Malpractice
In Schmidt v. Coogan, 181 Wn.2d 661, 671, 335 P.3d 424 (2014), the Washington Supreme Court set broad outlines for emotional distress damages as a part of a legal malpractice claim: “We hold that the...
View ArticleFederal Court Denies Disqualification on Lawyer-Witness Rule in Bad-Faith...
The federal district court in Seattle recently denied a disqualification motion based on the lawyer-witness rule, RPC 3.7. Arrowood Indemnity Company v. Thompson, 2024 WL 115509 (W.D. Wash. Jan. 10,...
View ArticleCourt of Appeals Parses Intersection of Doctor-Patient and Attorney-Client...
Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion parsing the difficult intersection of the doctor-patient and attorney-client privileges in medical malpractice cases. In Snyder...
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