(2) A Member shall not withdraw from the employment relationship until it has taken reasonable steps to avoid a reasonably foreseeable interference with the Customer`s rights, including appropriate notification by the Customer, granting time to employ other legal counsel, compliance with Rule 3-700(D) and compliance with applicable laws and rules. 1. Where authorization to terminate the employment relationship is required under the rules of a tribunal, a member may not withdraw from the employment relationship in proceedings before that tribunal without the consent of the tribunal. A member representing a client before a court withdraws from the employment relationship, with the consent of the tribunal, if its regulations so require, and a member representing a client in other matters withdraws from the employment relationship if: Subsection A(2) provides that “a member shall not withdraw from the employment relationship until the member has taken appropriate action, to avoid any reasonably foreseeable interference with the rights of customers. What such measures would entail will, of course, vary depending on the circumstances. In the absence of special circumstances, “reasonable measures” do not include the provision of additional services to the client once the successor counsel has been hired and rule 3-700(D) is complied with. (e) in a matter that is not pending before a court, insists that the Member engages in conduct contrary to the Member`s judgment and advice, but which is not prohibited by these Rules or the State Bar Law, or (b) seeks unlawful conduct, or (2) the Member knows or should know that the continuation of employment will result in a violation of these Rules or the the Law Society of the State; or While the Committee`s fact sheet specifically addresses a lawyer`s obligation to comply with Rule 3-700(A)(2) in the event of the dissolution of the Firm, the obligations under Rule 3-700-(A)(2) also apply to a lawyer or partner who withdraws from a law firm where the Firm`s activities are still ongoing. In such circumstances, the lawyer must nevertheless “take reasonable steps to avoid any reasonably foreseeable interference with the client`s rights”, including timely and accurate notification to all clients of the change in the lawyer`s employment status. (California State Bar, Committee on Professional Liability and Conduct, Formal Notice 1985-86Y.) Even if the lawyer does not anticipate that a client will continue to retain the lawyer`s services after leaving the previous firm, the lawyer may have a special knowledge of the client`s case that requires more communication and support to ensure that the client`s rights are not affected by the lawyer`s move. If rule 3-700(B) is not applicable, a member may not apply for leave to resign in cases pending before a court and may not resign in other cases unless such request or withdrawal is made for the following reasons: The hypothetical factual model considered by the Committee concerned a client who had filed a complaint six months before the dissolution of the Registry.
Prior to the dissolution, Partner A was the lead partner in charge of the case, and an employee conducted extensive research and development of the claims. When the firm decided to dissolve its company, the limitation period applicable to the client`s case approached. Partner A joined a new law firm and informed the client that he could not take over the case in the new law firm.