Legal Ethics
Court Chastises, But Does Not Disqualify, Storch Amini for Alleged Conflict
Posted Jan 24, 2008, 05:51 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A New York appeals court has refused to disqualify a law firm that sued Oppenheimer & Co. for alleged sexual harassment by its general counsel, even though the law firm was “walking a fine ethical line” in the case.
The court said the law firm of Storch, Amini & Munves should have been alert to the possibility of a conflict of interest when two Oppenheimer employees sought advice—a paralegal who ultimately sued for harassment and a lawyer in the general counsel’s office in whom the paralegal confided, the New York Law Journal reports.
The paralegal, Irina Alter, filed suit against the general counsel, Eric Shames, after she was fired. Alter continued to communicate with the in-house lawyer, Evelyn Bukchin, who told Alter that Shames had told her that Alter’s suit and two other actions were a “source of embarrassment.” Bukchin also said Shames told her he believed Alter had the most meritorious claim.
In its opinion, the appeals court said disqualification was not necessary because the plaintiffs had obtained no unfair advantage.
“It is critical that attorneys be acutely alert to situations where the potential for adverse interests may arise, especially since the consequences for both the parties and the attorneys are profound,” the court said. “In the present facts, it was plainly foreseeable that the interests of the individuals that counsel was simultaneously consulting with could become divergent, given Bukchin's position as in-house counsel and the absence of any claim that she was a victim of sexual harassment. …
“By consulting with both Bukchin and Alter, counsel was walking a fine ethical line, potentially jeopardizing the viability and fairness of future litigation and the reputation, standing and well-being of the law firm itself.”