Legal Ethics
Judge Blasts Morgan Lewis’ Offer of Free Legal Help as Discovery Tactic
Posted Oct 29, 2008, 11:28 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Brooklyn, N.Y., judge has blasted Morgan, Lewis & Bockius for offering to provide free legal help to four employees of a hospital it is defending in an employment dispute.
Saying the move was aimed at gaining an advantage in discovery, Judge Michael Ambrosio of Brooklyn refused to allow the law firm to represent the witnesses, who are not parties to the litigation, the New York Law Journal reports.
Ambrosio said Morgan Lewis apparently intended to stop informal interviews of the employees by the plaintiff’s lawyers, a gambit aimed at gaining a tactical advantage in discovery, according to the story. Because Morgan Lewis represented the witnesses, the plaintiff’s counsel could not interview them without contacting Morgan Lewis.
Brooklyn lawyer Alan Rich, who represents plaintiff Felix Rivera, told the New York Law Journal that the ruling is an important reaction to an increasingly common defense tactic.
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