Counsel Concerns

Attorney-Fee Dispute/Counsel Disqualification

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided that a former associate in a law firm can continue to represent one-time Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King in a fee dispute between King and the associate's former firm. King v. Fox, 97 Civ. 4134 (RWS) (JCF). King had hired W. Robert Curtis' firm (C&RC) to represent him in a legal malpractice dispute with attorney Lawrence King, who had represented King in pursuing King's Skynyrd royalties from MCA Records. King later terminated his relationship with the Curtis firm in a dispute over C&RC's legal fees. King then retained former C&RC law associate John A. Howard, who himself had sued Curtis over Howard's status in C&RC, to handle King's fee dispute with Curtis. Curtis moved to have Howard disqualified, arguing Howard was in a position to use confidential information from when he was at the Curtis firm, had a personal interest that affected his professional judgment and would likely be a necessary witness in the King-Curtis fee dispute. Howard argued, on the other hand, that he hadn't worked at the Curtis firm when the disputed legal work for King had been performed, that he had been minimally involved in the King-Fox malpractice litigation (by working for 1.5 hours on clerical issues in the case) and that there was no substantial relationship between the King-Fox malpractice suit and the King-Curtis fee dispute.

In denying Curtis' motion to disqualify Howard, the district court acknowledged: “Mr. Howard never represented C&RC or Mr. Curtis, nor did he participate in any representation of C&RC or Mr. Curtis while he worked at C&RC. Although there was no attorney-client relationship here, Mr. Curtis argues that, because an attorney owes a fiduciary duty of confidentiality to his former partners, Mr. Howard owes a fiduciary duty of confidentiality to the Curtis firm as his former employer. … However, it does not follow that an associate, as an employee, owes a fiduciary duty to his employer.”

Attorney-Fee Dispute/Counsel Disqualification

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decided that a former associate in a law firm can continue to represent one-time Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King in a fee dispute between King and the associate's former firm. King v. Fox, 97 Civ. 4134 (RWS) (JCF). King had hired W. Robert Curtis' firm (C&RC) to represent him in a legal malpractice dispute with attorney Lawrence King, who had represented King in pursuing King's Skynyrd royalties from MCA Records. King later terminated his relationship with the Curtis firm in a dispute over C&RC's legal fees. King then retained former C&RC law associate John A. Howard, who himself had sued Curtis over Howard's status in C&RC, to handle King's fee dispute with Curtis. Curtis moved to have Howard disqualified, arguing Howard was in a position to use confidential information from when he was at the Curtis firm, had a personal interest that affected his professional judgment and would likely be a necessary witness in the King-Curtis fee dispute. Howard argued, on the other hand, that he hadn't worked at the Curtis firm when the disputed legal work for King had been performed, that he had been minimally involved in the King-Fox malpractice litigation (by working for 1.5 hours on clerical issues in the case) and that there was no substantial relationship between the King-Fox malpractice suit and the King-Curtis fee dispute.

In denying Curtis' motion to disqualify Howard, the district court acknowledged: “Mr. Howard never represented C&RC or Mr. Curtis, nor did he participate in any representation of C&RC or Mr. Curtis while he worked at C&RC. Although there was no attorney-client relationship here, Mr. Curtis argues that, because an attorney owes a fiduciary duty of confidentiality to his former partners, Mr. Howard owes a fiduciary duty of confidentiality to the Curtis firm as his former employer. … However, it does not follow that an associate, as an employee, owes a fiduciary duty to his employer.”