DESCRIPTION
Ethics of Co-Counsel and Referral Relationships
Co-counsel and referral relationships are common in law practice. Lawyers associate with other lawyers on cases to gain specialized knowledge required for competent representation in a case.Litigation counsel may seek local counsel on a case in another jurisdiction. Lawyers also refer out business for a variety of reasons, including overflow work or the work is outside of a lawyer’s core competencies. These any many other co-counsel and referral relationships, however, raise substantial ethical and malpractice issues. This program will provide you with a framework for understanding the ethical issues surrounding co-counsel and referral relationships.
- Duty to supervise counsel to whom you have referred work
- Associating with other lawyers or firms to gain competence in specific areas
- Fee splitting in co-counsel or referral relationships
- Liability to co-counsel for breaches of fiduciary duty or malpractice
- Liability for errors of co-counsel
- Duty to inform of malpractice by co-counsel
Speakers:
Brian S. Faughnan is special counsel in the Memphis office of Thomason Hendrix Harvey Johnson & Mitchell, PLLC, where he represents clients in a wide variety of matters at the trial level and on appeal. He counsels lawyers and law firms on a wide variety of issues surrounding legal ethics and professional responsibility. He is the chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, a reporter for the committee’s rules revision project, a member of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, and a member of the Media Law Resource Center’s Ethics Committee.
Disclaimer: All views or opinions expressed by any presenter during the course of this CLE is that of the presenter alone and not an opinion of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the employers, or affiliates of the presenters unless specifically stated. Additionally, any materials, including the legal research, are the product of the individual contributor, not the Oklahoma Bar Association. The Oklahoma Bar Association makes no warranty, express or implied, relating to the accuracy or content of these materials.