Ellen C Brotman

February 06, 2009 | The Legal Intelligencer

In these difficult times, partnerships are breaking up, firms are dissolving and more and more laterals are seeking greener pastures. These events often create ethical dilemmas concerning client and fee retention. Recently, we pondered the question of how a minimum fee gets apportioned when the lawyer who brought the client and the fee to the firm decides to leave, and the client leaves with the lawyer.

By Ellen C. Brotman And Michael B. Hayes

7 minute read

April 06, 2007 | Law.com

On March 14, 2006, a young black woman reported that she had been raped by three white members of the Duke University lacrosse team during a team party. The report sparked a television, print and Internet news media frenzy.

By Ellen C. Brotman and Michael B. Hayes

8 minute read

July 06, 2007 | Law.com

Five or six times a week you get a call from a colleague to let you know you�ve been referred a possible new client.

By Ellen C. Brotman and Michael Hayes

9 minute read

April 07, 2009 | Legaltech News

A suspicious wife accesses her husband's e-mail account on their mutually-owned home computer. Her review of his messages proves that he has not been faithful. The wife wants to file for divorce and forwards the e-mails to you, her lawyer. Can you use those e-mails as proof in your case?

By Ellen C. Brotman and Michael B. Hayes

7 minute read

May 07, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

Almost three years ago, we wrote about the tension between a lawyer's defense of his own professional conduct and his duties of loyalty and confidentiality to his client. The issue was presented in Qualcomm Inc. v. Broadcom Corp., a California patent infringement case involving cell phone technology.

By Ellen C. Brotman and Michael B. Hayes

6 minute read

January 08, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

One of the trends that we see developing in the new decade is a significant rise in corporate investigations by government agencies. We've previously written about how Pennsylvania's Rules of Professional Conduct govern a company's efforts to both defend itself and permit it to pay for and provide appropriate counsel for its employees and other witnesses.

By Ellen C. Brotman And Michael B. Hayes

7 minute read

May 12, 2010 | Corporate Counsel

A magistrate recently ruled the attorneys involved in Qualcomm's electronic discovery woes should not be sanctioned. While the attorneys were vindicated, the decision provides guidance on discovery, as well as how to maintain objectivity and integrity in relationships with clients.

By Ellen C. Brotman and Michael B. Hayes

6 minute read

February 11, 2010 | Law.com

It's February, and a lawyer's fancy turns to ... love? Counterbalancing all of the surveys about dissatisfaction with the practice of law, attorneys Ellen C. Brotman and Michael B. Hayes talked to lawyers who love lawyering, to get their take on the positives of the profession.

By Ellen C. Brotman and Michael B. Hayes

7 minute read

April 02, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

We all know that lawyers owe ongoing duties of loyalty and confidentiality to former clients, but how far do those duties extend? Does a position we have previously taken on a client's behalf preclude us from advocating a conflicting position when we represent our own personal interests in the future? What about our First Amendment rights?

By Ellen C. Brotman and Michael B. Hayes

7 minute read

June 16, 2008 | The Legal Intelligencer

One of the things we learned as children is that it's better to tell on yourself than to have a classmate tell on you. In our practice, this translates into advising clients to self-report misconduct before the letter from the Office of Disciplinary Couns

By Ellen C. Brotman and Michael B. Hayes

8 minute read