Legal Ethics
MoFo Acts Quickly After Discovering a Conflict
Posted Dec 6, 2007, 06:25 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
An expert says Morrison & Foerster took the right steps after a client’s bankruptcy objection revealed a sale of a patent to a second law firm client.
Client Novell Inc. was a creditor in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy of SCO Group Inc., the Recorder explains in its story on the conflict. When SCO sought approval of a sale of a patent held by a subsidiary, Novell filed an objection seeking more information. The buyer, it turned out, was another Morrison & Foerster client.
In a court filing, the law firm said it had established an internal "wall" blocking communication among the lawyers involved in the two matters, had notified Novell of the conflict, and had stopped its representation of the buyer until the court OKs it.
Jeffrey Neuburger, chair of the technology, media and communications department at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner, told the Recorder the law firm responded appropriately.
"When acquiring intellectual property, if possible, you want to check to make sure that the intellectual property isn't the subject of litigation against another client," he said. "In this case, there were probably factors involved that made it a little more complicated."
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