[textbook]Traversing the Ethical Minefield Problems, Law, and Professional Responsibility by Susan R. Martyn (z-lib.org)(1) (1)

The public’s trust in the legal system in not undermined when a trial court perceives an
abuse by counsel and corrects it by a fair, proportionate, and measured remedy. . . .
Problems
11-3. Small Co. asks Martyn & Fox to bring a huge fraud and RICO claim against
Magna Co. Martyn circulates a conflicts memo. The next day, she receives a call from her
bankruptcy partner. “We represent Big Bank in a $600 million loan to Magna that is
scheduled to close next Tuesday. I’ll tell the CEO right away, and we’ll be heroes.” How
should Martyn respond?
11-4. Martyn & Fox received a call to defend a major accounting firm in a 10b-5 class
action involving a dot-com company whose stock has precipitously dropped. The
accounting firm sent Fox the pleadings, and Fox met with them for three hours yesterday,
explaining the firm’s approach and the possible lines of defense the accounting firm might
use. The firm promised to get back to Martyn & Fox next week. Today, Martyn circulated
a conflicts memo asking whether the firm could take on the representation of the defendant
underwriter in the same matter. What should Fox do?
C. Imputed Client Conflicts Model Rules 1.0(c), 1.7, 1.9, 1.10 RLGL § 124
Martin v. Atlanticare
2011 WL 5080255 (D. N. J.)
Joel SCHNEIDER, United States Magistrate Judge
. . . The question before the Court is whether [Plaintiff’s law firm] Costello & Mains
should be disqualified because it employed a side-switching attorney. . . .
Plaintiffs . . . filed this lawsuit on October 28, 2010 . . . [alleging] that defendants
discriminated and retaliated against them because of their race and ethnicity. Plaintiff
Martin also alleges that her employer, AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center (ARMC),
violated the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law and the Fair Labor Standards Act by not
paying her for work in excess of forty hours per week. Martin brings this claim on behalf of
herself and as a “collective action” on behalf of similarly situated workers.
Plaintiffs are represented by Costello & Mains (“CM”). The managing partner of the
firm is Kevin Costello (“Costello” or “KC”). Defendants are represented by Morgan. . . . At
the inception of the case, defendants’ defense was coordinated by a three-attorney team at
Morgan. The supervising partner-in-charge was Richard Rosenblatt, Esquire (“RR”). The
other attorneys on the original defense team were Lisa Grosskruetz, Esquire (“LG”) and
Prashanth Jayachandran, Esquire, (“PJ”). LG started working for Morgan on November
22, 2010 after having litigated employment matters in New Jersey for 23 years. PJ has been
admitted to practice for 12 years and has extensive experience representing employers in
wage and hour class and collective actions.
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