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Counsel Concerns

BY Stan Soocher
March 30, 2012

Law Firm's Push for Sale of George Clinton Copyrights, to Pay for Legal Fees, Will Remain in Western District of Washington

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington refused to dismiss a bid by former attorneys of musician George Clinton who are seeking the sale of the artist's copyrights to pay for legal fees that a California federal court found the artist owed the firm. Clinton v. Hendricks v. Lewis PLLC, 11-1142.

In 2009, an arbitrator ruled that Clinton owed legal fees to his former lawyers, Seattle-based Hendricks & Lewis. In 2010, the Western District of Washington confirmed the award. Hendricks & Lewis then sued George Clinton in the Central District of California for an assignment of royalties that Capitol Records owed Clinton. But the California district court denied the assignment request. (That case is on appeal.) Meanwhile, Clinton filed a malpractice complaint against Hendrick & Lewis in the Western District of Washington. The law firm counterclaimed for judicial sale of four of Clinton's copyrights to pay the legal fees judgment it had previously obtained against Clinton. Clinton responded with an affirmative defense to have the law firm's counterclaim dismissed as duplicative of the California litigation.

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