As we enter a new year, yet again conflicts of interest issues continue to bedevil lawyers and law firms large and small. This article surveys three recent cases that address different aspects of the ethics rules and law governing conflicts of interest: representing clients adverse to affiliates of existing entity clients; the efficacy (or otherwise) of advance waivers; and, a case with overtones of Halloween that would make for humorous reading if it were not in reality about a very serious topic, the scope and meaning of “personal interest” conflicts.
Affiliates
In GSI Commerce Solutions Inc., v. BabyCenter, LLC, 2010 WL 3239436 (2d Cir. Aug. 18, 2010), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provided important guidance to lawyers and law firms who customarily represent corporate and other entity clients, when they are called on to represent clients in matters that are adverse to an affiliate of another existing client. The plaintiffs, GSI Commerce Solutions, appealed from Judge Jed Rakoff’s order granting a motion by the defendants, BabyCenter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson Inc. (J&J), to disqualify GSI’s counsel. The firm representing GSI had represented J&J in other matters.
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