Articles Tagged with lawyer

by

  • Law firms should recognize that lawyer resignations and the loss of clients are inevitable in the modern law practice due to prohibitions on agreements that restrict competition.

  • Law firms can protect the interests of clients and the firm by adopting best practices that govern lawyer resignations.

  • Law firms should recognize the investments made in the firm’s intellectual property and adopt policies that limit misappropriation.

Law firms must survive in a world in which key employees are free to leave at any time and to take as much of the firm’s business with them as they can.  Many lawyers, motivated by the financial incentives that are part of their separation,  believe that there are no rules limiting their solicitation of clients, copying of key documents and compensation for their old firm.  This view may be mistaken, but sorting it out after the resignation or withdrawal is expensive, time-consuming football-1717630_1280-1024x682and threatens to draw off the time and attention of key managers.

The grab and go is the unexpected resignation without notice combined with the immediate unilateral solicitation of clients. Its corollary is the law firm lockout, in which a lawyer that has indicated his or her intention to leave is locked out of the firm and cut off from clients while the clients are intensely solicited by the firm.

Best Practices to Manage Lawer Resignations

Here is a list of some of 10 policies that a law firm should have in place before a key lawyer decides to move his or her practice.  But first, the reality check.  Lawyers will leave and lawyers will take clients.  Not only that, but lawyers have a right to leave and take clients.  The only issue on the table is managing the process.

Law firms, the individual lawyers that work there and the clients that we serve are better served by articulating a clear set of rules beforehand, by adopting key internal policies and by recognizing that resignation need not equate with conflict.  Lawyers and their former law firms should remember that life goes on after the departure.  But when one side tries to gain an unfair advantage over the other, however, life gets complicated and messy. Continue reading

Contact Information
Jay R. McDaniel, Esq.
(973) 602-3915
Weiner Law Group LLP
New Jersey Office
629 Parsippany Road
Parsippany, NJ 07054
New York City Office
90 Broad Street
New York, NY 10004
This newsletter may be considered advertising for legal services under the laws and rules of professional conduct of the jurisdictions in which we practice. The information on this site is of a general nature, is not intended as legal advice, and must not be taken as legal advice. We provide legal advice only to clients of the firm. You should not rely on the content of this article, but should consult a lawyer about legal issues. This letter does not establish any attorney-client relationship. We are are admitted to practice in the states of New Jersey and New York.

Attorney Advertising

Before making your choice of attorney, you should give this matter careful thought. The selection of an attorney is an important decision. If this letter contains inaccuracies or is misleading, you may report the same to the Committee on Attorney Advertising, Hughes Justice Complex, P.O. Box 37, Trenton, NJ 08625.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2024, Jay R. McDaniel, Esq.
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design