David Atkins Comments on How Law Firms and Departing Attorneys Should Handle Client Choice

David P. Atkins, chair of Pullman & Comley’s Professional Liability practice, was quoted in an article in the Connecticut Law Tribune about a recent complaint by a personal injury and workers’ compensation law firm filed against a former associate.  The law firm has alleged that the associate accessed their databases to collect client information and then tried to lure the most profitable clients to his new firm, event though he never performed work for the clients.

According to David, ideally, outgoing attorneys should work cooperatively with their old firms to reach agreements that leave the decisions up to the clients.

“I think it should be done cooperatively where both sides agree to send out written ballots to the client so the client[s] can choose for themselves,” he said. “The sensible way to resolve it is with ballots with wording both sides agree on. There should be three choices, and that being the client stays with the firm, goes with the departing lawyer, or sends [its] files somewhere else.”

To read the full article on the Connecticut Law Tribune website, please click here.