Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
CD of Teleconference with Q&A
|
Conducted on Thursday, June 12, 2008
Now available on CD |
Law firms, like any other business in this country, face lawsuits and claims of malpractice or other wrongdoing by clients, as well as claims by employees and others on a regular basis.
Like other companies, law firms must conduct internal investigations into such claims and deal with issues of attorney–client and work product privilege. However, law firms must also deal with unique privilege and legal ethics issues.
Every law firm must prepare for the possibility of being a defendant in litigation. Every firm should have a well-structured internal review program, including proactive measures to ensure that investigations protect both client and attorney confidentiality.
Listen as our panel of legal specialists examines the attorney–client privilege in the context of law firm internal investigations, including protections available to the firm and challenges that an aggrieved client is likely to raise in order to discover the results of the firm’s investigation. The panel will also discuss legal ethics issues the firm must consider and best practices for maintaining privileges.
The panel included:
Kevin S. Rosen, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles. He focuses on business and commercial litigation with an emphasis on legal malpractice defense. He chairs the Legal Malpractice Defense Practice Group and has successfully defended many law firms. He also handles consumer fraud class actions, unfair competition cases, healthcare litigation, trade secret litigation, securities litigation, real estate litigation, and general business disputes.
John K. Villa, Partner, Williams & Connolly, Washington, D.C. He specializes in legal malpractice defense and corporate and financial services-related litigation (both civil and criminal). He has gained national prominence defending top law firms in trouble. The American Lawyer called him the premier legal malpractice defense lawyer in the nation and the Washington Post says "John Villa ...[is] the lawyer ...firms turn to when they're in trouble."
William M. Sullivan Jr., Partner, Winston & Strawn, Washington, D.C. He concentrates in corporate internal investigations, trial practice, and white-collar criminal defense, as well as complex civil litigation and securities enforcement and other regulatory actions. He has substantial experience representing both companies and individuals in government and corporate investigations.
The panel reviewed these and other key questions:
- What protections are available to law firms as they conduct internal investigations?
- What are the common challenges asserted by firm clients to access information gathered in the firm's internal investigation?
- What ethical issues should law firms consider when undertaking an internal investigation?
- What steps should firms take to protect the confidentiality of the information resulting from the internal investigation?
*******************************************************************************
TELECONFERENCE CD
Purchase a CD-ROM of the full conference proceedings, including Q&A and PDF files of all handouts (available 10 days after the program).
- Regular Price - $297 (plus $9.45 S&H)
- With Teleconference Registration – an additional $75 (plus $9.45 S&H)
CLE credit is available for an additional $65 each for attorneys seeking CLE credits for NY or CT.
Other states may grant CLE credits for listening to this CD - check with your state about applying for self-study credit on CD-listening.