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

denying to the firm the lawyer’s intention to depart. Firms likewise should consider the
consequences of similar actions prior to the contemplated departure of a lawyer who is not
yet aware of impending change. 42 Such actions by a departing lawyer or a firm may reflect a
lack of candor.
Problem
13-5. Star Associate at Martyn & Fox is fed up and quits. Outstanding work. Loved by
clients. Unappreciated. One day, she darkens Fox’s door. “Smith & Wolfman opens on
Monday. I have letters from 55 clients asking for their files to be sent to my new firm. You
should have given me that raise!” Can Martyn & Fox do anything?
1. See, e.g., Pane v. Goffs, 2009 WL 1119480 (Mass. App. unpublished); Kelly v. Hunton & Williams,1999 WL
408416 (E.D.N.Y.); Wieder v. Skala, 609 N.E. 2d 105 (N.Y. 1992).
2. E. Norman Veasey & Christine T. DiGuglielmo, Indispensable Counsel: The Chief Legal Officer in the New Reality
27-34 (Oxford U. Press 2010).
3. Mark A. Rothstein et al., Employment Law § 9.1 (5th ed., West 2015).
4. Petermann v. Teamsters Local 396, 344 P.2d 25 (Cal. App. 1959).
5. See Restatement of the Law (Third) Employment Law, Chapter 5 (2017).
6. See Rothstein, supra note 3, at §§ 9.2-9.6; see Lionel J. Postic, Wrongful Termination: A State-by-State Survey (BNA
1994).
7. See Daniel P. Westman & Nancy M. Modesitt, Whistleblowing: The Law of Retaliatory Discharge (BNA 2d ed.,
2004).
8. See, e.g., Sabine Pilot Service v. Hauck, 687 S.W.2d 733 (Tex. 1985).
9. See, e.g., Delaney v. Taco Time Int’l. Inc., 681 P.2d 114 (Or. 1984) (potential defamation).
10. See, e.g., Minn. Stat. § 181.932 (2017); N.Y. Lab. Law § 740 (2017); Tenn. Code § 50-1-304 (2017).
11. Rothstein, supra note 3, at §§ 8.10-8.11.
12. See Theresa Ludwig Kruk, Recovery for Discharge from Employment in Retaliation for Filing Workers’ Compensation
Claim, 32 A.L.R. 4th 1221 (1984).
13. Rothstein, supra note 3, at § 8.13.
14. See, e.g., Heckman v. Zurich Holding Co. of America, 242 F. R. D. 606 (D. Kan. 2007) (citing cases).
15. Burkhart v. Semitool, Inc., 5 P.3d 1031 (Mont. 2000) (refusing to prepare fraudulent patent applications); Kelly
v. Hunton & Williams, 1999 U.S. Dist. Lexis 9139 (E.D.N.Y.) (associate fired in retaliation for reporting partner’s
fraud to the firm; “Billing for hours not worked is fraud.”).
16. Wieder v. Skala, 609 N.E. 2d 105 (N.Y. 1992).
17. See, e.g., Crews v. Buckman Laboratories Int’l Inc., 78 S.W.3d 852 (Tenn. 2002) (inside counsel whose employer
confiscated her computer, placed her on temporary leave, and gave her a notice of termination fairly raised allegation of
constructive discharge, as she did not leave voluntarily and a reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign).
But see GTE Prod. Corp. v. Stewart, 653 N.E.2d 161 (Mass. 1995) (inside counsel quit after one distressing interview
with a supervisor).
18. 584 N.E.2d 104 (Ill. 1991).
19. See, e.g., EEOC v. Sidley Austin LLP, 437 F.3d 695 (7th Cir. 2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 815 (federal and state
whistleblower statutes provide protection mainly for public sector employees who disclose illegal acts of their
government employers).
4. Robert W. Hillman, Hillman on Lawyer Mobility, (“Hillman”), Chapter 2, § 2.3.1 (2000 Supplement).
7. Colo. RPC 1.16(a)(1).
8. Colo. RPC 1.16(a)(2).
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