Hal R. Lieberman has provided attorney ethics expert opinions to a wide variety of law firm clients in a broad range of civil, criminal, and alternative dispute adjudications since 1998, including, among others: disqualification motions; legal malpractice cases; conflicts of interest; sanction motions; partnership disputes; fee disputes; escrow funds; advertising and solicitation; lawyers’ duty to supervise; and the interpretation and application of professional conduct rules.
Representative cases include:
- Alleged malpractice regarding a law firm’s advice to a client involving a stock purchase and tender offer for the controlling interest in a publicly traded company.
- Alleged malpractice involving a law firm’s advice to a client regarding the management, use, and protection of valuable trademarks.
- Disqualification motion based on alleged conflict of interest by law firm seeking enforcement of a multimillion-dollar judgment on behalf of a client.
- Fee dispute between a major New York realtor and its long-time attorney involving alleged excessive fees under a classic general retainer agreement that required the attorney’s availability to provide legal services to the client as requested.
- Dispute arising from a law firm associate’s alleged surreptitious referral of a potential plaintiff’s case against multiple defendants to a competitor firm in exchange for clandestine referral fees.
- Fee dispute between law firms in connection with the World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation.
- Disqualification motion involving two Am Law 100 law firms representing clients in a New York litigation where a former associate on defendant’s legal team was currently working at the California office of plaintiff’s law firm.
- Alleged malpractice involving a law firm’s advice to a client in connection with lease buyout negotiations concerning a high-end Madison Avenue retail location.
- Alleged failure by attorney to act with “due diligence” in the negotiation of a separation agreement on behalf of the spouse of a high-net-worth individual.
- Alleged improper fee-sharing agreement between plaintiffs’ law firm in a class action and a law firm designated as “referring counsel” or “local counsel.”
- Dispute involving the propriety of an award of punitive damages under the specific facts and circumstances of a case.
- Dispute among former and current law firm partners regarding whether the “forfeiture-for-competition” provision in the firm’s partnership agreement was ethical under New York law.
- Dispute involving whether an attorney-client relationship existed between a putative plaintiff and a law firm.
Attorney Ethics Expert Witness
Those wishing to consult Mr. Lieberman as an expert witness are invited to call or email us, or submit an inquiry on our contact page.