When a lawyer intends to move from one law firm to another, uncertainty and suspicion frequently beset the period of transition between Firm A and Firm B. To bring some clarity to that often fraught situation, the ABA’s Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has issued Formal Opinion 489, Obligations Related to Notice When Lawyers Change Firms (December 4, 2019).

Giving the highest priority to the obligations owed to the affected clients, the committee laid out a comprehensive set of ground rules each side must observe in meeting their respective responsibilities to clients during the transition, summarized as follows:

For the Departing Lawyer

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]