Lateral conflicts check Forum

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know how often corporate associates who try to lateral have their offer rescinded due to failing a conflicts check?

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know how often corporate associates who try to lateral have their offer rescinded due to failing a conflicts check?

Don't know, but it happened to me at one firm in TX when I lateraled from the Northeast. I'm a Tax associate. I was working for a bunch of major clients at my prior firm. I was never told what the conflict was.

[ttg7ya12]

This happened to me three times during my clerkship. I was at a large NYC firm before clerking and deciding to move to DC - Northern Virginia after. My NY firm did not have a significant DC presence.

First conflict was a legitimate legal conflict. Classic fact pattern - substantial relationship, adverse parties. The only favorable facts were that I would be working for an unrelated practice group in a different city, but NY law is not forgiving in the context of conflicts. Screen was insufficient. The firm that wanted to hire me asked me to procure a conflict waiver from the client, and the client refused.

Other two conflicts were client-driven. I had worked on a monitorship and the two firms did business with the monitored company. The company feared that if I was hired, it would suggest interference with the independent monitor, or an attempt to gain inside information about the monitor. So the company threatened to withhold future business from both firms if I was hired. Thus, more of a business decision than a legal conflict.

My understanding is that my experience was the outlier, and the by-product of having the good fortune to work on some pretty high-profile matters in New York when I was still relatively junior. However, I have heard that lateral conflicts are an increasing problem for litigators.

Best advice is to research any potential conflicts using Law360 and Westlaw, keep your options open until you clear conflicts, and if you start getting a lot of questions about a particular matter, be candid, but concise. It is not a bad idea to ask a firm to run your conflict check before you accept an offer. And if a firm requests a waiver letter, realize that it means you will probably burn bridges at your current employer, so think carefully about whether to move forward, because there is a good chance the client will not agree to sign it.

[unlicensedpotato]

Does anyone know how often corporate associates who try to lateral have their offer rescinded due to failing a conflicts check?

Don't know, but it happened to me at one firm in TX when I lateraled from the Northeast. I'm a Tax associate. I was working for a bunch of major clients at my prior firm. I was never told what the conflict was.

This seems crazy for tax.

[Anonymous User]

This happened to me three times during my clerkship. I was at a large NYC firm before clerking and deciding to move to DC - Northern Virginia after. My NY firm did not have a significant DC presence.

First conflict was a legitimate legal conflict. Classic fact pattern - substantial relationship, adverse parties. The only favorable facts were that I would be working for an unrelated practice group in a different city, but NY law is not forgiving in the context of conflicts. Screen was insufficient. The firm that wanted to hire me asked me to procure a conflict waiver from the client, and the client refused.

Other two conflicts were client-driven. I had worked on a monitorship and the two firms did business with the monitored company. The company feared that if I was hired, it would suggest interference with the independent monitor, or an attempt to gain inside information about the monitor. So the company threatened to withhold future business from both firms if I was hired. Thus, more of a business decision than a legal conflict.

My understanding is that my experience was the outlier, and the by-product of having the good fortune to work on some pretty high-profile matters in New York when I was still relatively junior. However, I have heard that lateral conflicts are an increasing problem for litigators.

Best advice is to research any potential conflicts using Law360 and Westlaw, keep your options open until you clear conflicts, and if you start getting a lot of questions about a particular matter, be candid, but concise. It is not a bad idea to ask a firm to run your conflict check before you accept an offer. And if a firm requests a waiver letter, realize that it means you will probably burn bridges at your current employer, so think carefully about whether to move forward, because there is a good chance the client will not agree to sign it.

I think this is definitely true for litigators, but is it the same for corporate associates?

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know how often corporate associates who try to lateral have their offer rescinded due to failing a conflicts check?

Don't know, but it happened to me at one firm in TX when I lateraled from the Northeast. I'm a Tax associate. I was working for a bunch of major clients at my prior firm. I was never told what the conflict was.

This seems crazy for tax.

I agree. But yet it happened.