Announcements that one large law firm has "landed" a pair of partners from a rival are routine in legal trade news. In finance and transactional work especially, partners often move in teams. Behind each announcement is a set of rules about what departing lawyers can and cannot do.
Why partners move
Common reasons include compensation (large firms pay partners very differently), a better platform for a practice, conflicts that stop a partner taking on certain clients at their current firm, and the chance to build a team in a new market such as New York or San Francisco.
The rules on leaving
- Clients choose. Clients are not the property of a firm or a lawyer. Under professional conduct rules, clients decide who represents them. Departing lawyers and firms are generally expected to tell affected clients about the move promptly and neutrally, so the client can choose.
- No restrictions on practice. Rule 5.6 of the American Bar Association's Model Rules prohibits partnership agreements that restrict a lawyer's right to practise after leaving, except retirement benefit conditions. That makes non-compete clauses of the kind common in other industries largely unenforceable against lawyers.
- Fiduciary duties. While still a partner, a lawyer owes duties to the firm and should not secretly solicit clients or colleagues in ways that breach those duties. Timing and the content of communications are often disputed.
- ABA guidance. The ABA's ethics committee has issued formal opinions on departing lawyers, including on joint notices to clients and handling files.
Conflict checks
Before partners join, the new firm must check for conflicts of interest between the partners' clients and its own. Under the imputation rules, a lawyer's conflicts can be attributed to the whole firm, so a single conflicting matter can block a move or require an ethical screen. These checks require sharing limited client information, which the rules permit for this purpose.
Why it matters
Lateral movement keeps the market for legal services competitive and gives clients choice. The professional rules exist to make sure that what moves with the lawyer is the client's free decision, not an assumption.