David Boies, chairman of Boies Schiller Flexner.

The controversy surrounding David Boies and his work for Harvey Weinstein has prompted questions about ethics, conflicts of interest and where to draw the limit with clients.

But as Boies takes a beating in the press—and his partners at Boies Schiller Flexner read the headlines—some lawyers may be asking another question too: What are the potential pitfalls of having a firm's brand closely associated with a star lawyer?

“There are so few first-chair trial lawyers like David Boies who regularly make the short list for highly sought after high-stakes litigation matters. And if you have one or develop one in your firm, it can be like winning the lottery,” said Kent Zimmermann, a legal consultant at the Zeughauser Group. “But I think it can also be a double-edged sword, because you run the risk of tying your fortunes to a small group of people, or at some firms, maybe even one person.”

Boies has been a big name for decades. Beyond his big corporate cases, he's the lawyer who argued for Al Gore in Bush v. Gore and who played a key role in the lawsuits that led to the legalization of same-sex marriage. In other words, he's as close to a household name—and a media darling—as any lawyer not holding public office can be.

Now he's back in the news for his ties to Weinstein. According to a The New Yorker article, he signed a contract with a private Israeli intelligence agency that was trying to stymie The New York Times journalists from reporting on Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct. At the time, Boies Schiller was separately representing the Times in a libel case. After The New Yorker story ran, the Times fired Boies Schiller and issued a statement the newspaper “should have been treated better.”

Boies has acknowledged he made a mistake. But it was a costly one. The firm that bears his name and built its first-class reputation largely on the back of its star litigator lost a big-name client in a very public and humiliating way due to the actions of its co-founder.

To be sure, Boies Schiller is much more than just Boies himself. Among others, the firm has prominent lawyers like William Isaacson, who has secured trial wins in massive antitrust cases and was named one of The American Lawyer's litigators of the year in early 2016. Partner Karen Dunn is currently co-leading a trial team for Uber Technologies Inc. in its closely watched trade secrets litigation battle against Waymo, a rival in the self-driving car space. And co-founder Jonathan Schiller is a distinguished lawyer in his own right.

But Boies is still the most recognizable name. The entire episode could serve as a law firm cautionary tale.

Zeughauser Group's Zimmermann and David Parnell, founder of the legal placement boutique True North Partner Management, said that questions about star lawyers arise most commonly when firms are thinking about transitioning marquee partners' clients to younger lawyers when the senior lawyers retire. But succession issues aren't the only concern.

“The person could get hit by a bus, the person could run into reputational problems,” Zimmermann said. “The person, at some point, isn't going to practice forever.”

While there are clear upsides to riding the star of a prominent lawyer, Parnell said, firms should also try to use that prominence as a way of developing a strong team around them to prepare for a time when the star is gone, or if it fades.

“Of course, it is attractive to have a brand name in your ranks, but sound business practices dictate that the brand name should be leveraged by other attorneys and practices, too,” he said.

Boies Schiller's Isaacson said the firm has done just that. In a statement, he said Boies Schiller, which was founded 20 years ago this year, has grown far beyond the strength of its founders.

“David Boies and Jonathan Schiller founded the firm and built the business along with, soon after, Don Flexner,” he stated. “The firm quickly diversified to include other litigators and trial lawyers who attract business and who built the firm into what it is today and will continue to be, as we grow and succeed.”

Indeed, the Weinstein incident may soon pass, leaving Boies and the firm to continue to litigate the kinds of high-stakes cases and represent the powerful clients that made them famous. Last week, according to The New York Times, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he may sue the National Football League and some fellow team owners over negotiations to extend the contract of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

According to the article, Jones hired David Boies.