For four years, the 3M Co. has argued that its former law firm Covington & Burling committed a “betrayal” by filing an environmental lawsuit against 3M for another client. Covington got good news in February, when a judge refused to disqualify the firm from the environmental suit, which Covington has handled since 2010 on a contingency fee basis. Lawyers at 3M are also cheering the ruling, however—seizing on a finding by the judge that Covington did, in fact, violate an ethics rule.
Judge John McShane in Hennepin County, Minnesota, ruled that the environmental case is “substantially similar” to earlier regulatory work Covington did for 3M. The judge held that the firm had a conflict of interest and violated an ethics rule relating to duties owed to former clients.
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