White & Case hit with record £250k fine for 'reckless' conflict of interest and confidentiality failures
Partner fined £50,000 and firm fined £250,000 in connection with 2014 oligarch case
July 19, 2017 at 11:56 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
White & Case has been fined a record £250,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) for failings around confidentiality and conflicts of interest, with one London partner fined an additional £50,000.
The fine, which is the largest ever made by the SDT against a single firm, relates to a 2014 High Court case that saw the firm blocked from acting for Ukrainian client Victor Pinchuk, after it failed to identify a conflict of interest.
White & Case was referred to the SDT by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), with the SDT today confirming the £250,000 fine for the firm as well as a £50,000 fine for arbitration partner David Goldberg, who splits his time between London and Moscow.
An SDT statement said White & Case admitted acting "recklessly" by allowing work to be carried out without taking adequate steps to ensure there were no conflicts or risks of conflicts, and by agreeing to to take on further work without properly protecting the confidentiality of client information given to the firm.
Goldberg also admitted acting recklessly with regard to conflict and confidentiality issues.
He also admitted he had provided confidential information concerning work being undertaken on behalf of a client in one matter to a partner in the firm involved in a matter that gave rise to a significant risk of a conflict of interest between clients.
The SRA did not allege that the firm or Goldberg acted dishonestly and did not pursue allegations of lack of integrity against either Goldberg or White & Case.
A spokesperson for White & Case said: "While it would not be appropriate to comment until the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has published its judgment, we have been cooperating fully with the SRA and accept the orders which will be made by the SDT. We are committed to upholding the legal industry's highest standards at all times, in all of the jurisdictions where we operate."
Insurance leader Clyde & Co and West End firm Fulgers jointly held the previous record for the largest fine received by a law firm from the SDT, at £50,000.
Clydes was fined in April for breaching money laundering rules by allowing the firm's client account to be used as a banking facility. Three of the firm's partners each received £10,000 fines.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Going, Going, Gone! Florida Lawyers Up to Bat After Baseball Shatters Sales Records
JAMS Launches Initiative to Leverage AI Technology in Dispute Resolution
Federal Judge Preliminarily Approves $10M Settlement Against Citgo's 'Marriage Penalty' in Pensions Benefits
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Friday Newspaper
- 2Judge Denies Sean Combs Third Bail Bid, Citing Community Safety
- 3Republican FTC Commissioner: 'The Time for Rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC Is Over'
- 4NY Appellate Panel Cites Student's Disciplinary History While Sending Negligence Claim Against School District to Trial
- 5A Meta DIG and Its Nvidia Implications
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
