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By: Hilary Gerzhoy, Amy Richardson, HWG LLP, and Lauren Snyder SAS
This checklist provides guidance for associates considering relocating to another firm and covers topics such as how to evaluate a potential new law firm, questions to ask at your interview, ethical responsibilities, and practical tips.
If you are considering making a lateral move, you should consider the following four topics:
You should also consider whether the founders of the firm are still present. If they are, that means:
There is also the question of whether the firm will be viable once the founding partners leave. If the founding partners were rainmakers, and the next generation of attorneys mainly serviced those rainmakers’ clients, clients may choose to go elsewhere once the founding partners leave.
Like stated above, there are certain core considerations you should contemplate before making a lateral transfer, including:
Beyond looking at the potential new firm’s website to determine basic information about the firm’s structure, consider asking the following:
You should also ask if there is a defined benefit pension plan that is unfunded. Unfunded pensions, also known as pay as you go plans, have the following features:
If the plan is not closed, ask if you will have enough years of service to qualify at a reasonable age if you stay. You should also seek answers to the following questions:
It’s important to know the answers to these questions before making a move. Once you secure an offer, ask to speak to senior associates and counsel in the office to ask these questions.
A lawyer has an ethical duty to check if conflicts exist at the new firm before making the move. To do that, you’ll need to provide the new firm with a list of:
Once you’ve sent your list of clients to your new firm, you and your new firm must determine whether:
If there is a conflict, the common option is to see if you can be screened from the matter giving rise to the conflict.
If you decide to move, start organizing your client files. To do this:
Make sure that courts in which you have pending matters and all bars to which you belong are informed that you now have a new employer. In addition:
Hilary Gerzhoy is a partner at HWG LLP and Vice Chair of the firm’s Legal Ethics and Malpractice group. She represents lawyers and firms in disciplinary investigations, prosecutions, and malpractice matters. Hilary counsels lawyers regarding conflicts, advertising, fee disputes, the unauthorized practice of law, partner admissions, and law firm formations and dissolutions to avoid problems before they arise.
Amy Richardson, a partner at HWG LLP, is managing partner of the firm’s Raleigh office and Chair of the firm’s Legal Ethics and Malpractice group. Her practice focuses on legal ethics and professional responsibility matters, white collar defense, and complex commercial litigation. Amy counsels and advises lawyers and law firms in partner admissions and departures and law firm dissolutions.
Lauren Snyder is a former partner at HWG LLP. She now serves as legal counsel at SAS.
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1. See MODEL RULES OF PROF’L CONDUCT, R. 1.9(b)(2) (2018). 2. MODEL RULES OF PROF’L CONDUCT, R. 1.7(a)(1) (2018). 3. MODEL R. 1.7(a)(2) (material limitation conflicts). 4. MODEL R. 1.9(a), (b). 5. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-41 (North Carolina rule requiring attorneys to pay $50 annually to obtain “a statewide license for the privilege of practicing the profession.”).