Legal Ethics and the Legal Profession

The firm maintains a wide-ranging practice involving the laws which regulate the professional conduct of lawyers.  The firm's services in these areas are provided to lawyers, law firms and other individuals or entities dealing with lawyers, and include counseling, negotiation, litigation, representation before non-judicial tribunals, and arbitration.  This practice has included work on ethical issues involving conflicts of interest, fiduciary obligations, disclosure of confidential information, attorney-client privilege, fraud on clients, solicitation, appearances of impropriety, malpractice, and professional misconduct generally.

Among the specific cases dealing with the law of lawyers in which the firm has represented clients are:

• Disqualification of counsel, in a case of first impression applying the statutory conflict of interest presumptions under the Investment Company Act to attorneys.  Zewadski, Trustee v. Johnston, Lemon & Co., Inc., 1975-1976 Fed. Sec. L. Rep. ¶ 95,353 (D.D.C. 1975)(CCH), aff'd mem., 543 F.2d 418 (D.C. Cir. 1976).
  
  
• Qualification of counsel, in a case construing the application of the conflict of interest provisions of the Code on Professional Responsibility to former government attorneys now appearing in private practice.   Louisiana Power & Light Co. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, No. 82-4042, Slip op. (5th Cir. June 21, 1982), dismissing appeal from Louisiana Power & Light Co., ER81-457-000 and ER81-13-000 (FERC).
  
  
• Consequences of break-ups of law partnerships and professional corporations, in several cases in which the firm has represented departing partners or the remaining firm, in litigation, arbitration, negotiations and/or drafting and counseling.  Included in this category are such cases as Dudley v. Seymour & Dudley, etc., No. 82-1291 (D.D.C.) and various matters currently under seal or otherwise confidential.
  
  
• Ethical obligations of lawyers participating in commercial advertising and client reference services.  Proceedings before the Legal Ethics Committee, The District of Columbia Bar, Opinion No. 70A, (1979)  
  
  
• Protection of the confidences and secrets of clients in discovery against an attorney.  In re Coordinated Pretrial Proceedings in Petroleum Products Antitrust Litigation, F.S. 82-0092 (D.D.C.), and other cases. 
  
  
• Counsel in matters not of public record including: disciplinary proceedings before the Board on Professional Responsibility of the D.C. Court of Appeals (business transactions with clients, commingling funds, conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, conviction for offenses involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, excessive fees, neglect, reciprocal discipline, reporting professional misconduct); proceedings before the Office of Professional Responsibility, U.S. Department of Justice (conflict of interest); disclosure of confidential information and law partnership disputes, etc.

Mr. Lobel served on the faculty of the PLI courses "Defending the Professional" (1982) and "Congressional Oversight Investigations" (1984).