WTJ’s 2023 retreat is in the books! Our firm spent the weekend in Monterey, CA, for a time of bonding with our team and their families. We enjoyed team-building activities such as a scavenger hunt, a catamaran cruise, and golfing. There was also a beach bonfire that included delicious s’mores. We truly value our incredible team members and look forward to our next firm event.
The WTJ team is happy to welcome Jaskarn Chahal to the practice of law as our newest attorney. After passing the July 2022 California Bar Exam, his swearing-in ceremony took place on November 22, 2022, before the Honorable Judge Hamilton. We look forward to having Jaskarn as a key attorney on our team who supports WTJ’s public entity representation practice. Congratulations, Jaskarn!
WTJ is growing again! Our firm is excited to announce its merger with Fresno-based firm Betts & Rubin. The distinguished firm has merged into WTJ as of August 1, 2022, bringing local, longtime attorneys Jim Betts & Joe Rubin to our team. These seasoned attorneys will be huge assets to us, as they both bring decades of experience serving California clients.
Jim Betts is one of the top trial attorneys in the area. His career is highlighted by a long history of trial success and his membership with the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Betts has experience in Federal and State Court jury trials, and regularly represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of cases including business litigation, employment law, agricultural claims, and personal injury. His longtime partner, Joe Rubin, also comes to WTJ with a long, successful career primarily in public entity work.
We value the deep-rooted, well-deserved respect both attorneys have earned in the legal community, and are proud to announce them as part of the WTJ team!
The WTJ Barrels and Bites Open House was a success! We were so grateful to open our new building to clients, family, and friends while enjoying live music, conversations, and treats on Thursday, April 21. Cheers to everyone who attended and helped us make the night a special one. To those who couldn’t make it, we hope to see you at our next event.
The Business Journal has recognized WTJ Law this year in the top 20 of its women-owned businesses list for the San Joaquin Valley. Our firm has been very focused since its inception in striving for excellence not only for our clients but also for our own team.
Two female attorneys were elevated in 2021, bringing the total ownership by women in the firm to four out of seven. Internal promotion and support are not the only things that make WTJ a great firm. It has only been four years since we opened our doors, and our personal commitment to clients, community members, and our staff continues to grow.
WTJ started with only five attorneys and two staff members and has expanded to what we are today. We are so proud that The Business Journal has noticed and recognized our firm for these accomplishments!
WTJ celebrated its four-year anniversary on Thursday, February 10, with a staff lunch on the patio. They say, “time flies when you’re having fun,” and none of us could believe it had already been four years! WTJ has accomplished so much in the last several years that it is hard to list every single milestone, but on our anniversary, we did reflect on:
We can’t wait to see what the next four years will hold for this dynamic team we are so proud to have built.
WTJ said goodbye to Jamie Webb, the Transactional team’s long-time secretary of nearly two decades. Jamie retired on February 2, 2022, and celebrated the big milestone with a champagne toast with her team earlier this week. Jamie looks forward to spending her time exploring her hobbies. Cheers, and enjoy retirement, Jamie!
WTJ is proud to recognize its attorneys who have been named either a Northern California Super Lawyer or Rising Star by SuperLawyers.com for 2022.
Only a small percentage of attorneys in California receive this distinction each year—no more than 5% of attorneys are “Super Lawyers” and less than 2.5% of attorneys are “Rising Stars.”
WTJ is honored to have over 70% of the firm’s attorneys on the list. Congratulations to these attorneys for achieving this honor and keeping up with the WTJ standard of excellence in the profession:
In addition to this prestigious award, Mandy Jeffcoach was also given an elite honor, being named in the Top 50: 2021 Women Northern California Super Lawyers. We are thrilled for Mandy and the rest of the WTJ team as they celebrate these accomplishments!
Recently, the State Bar of California Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC)* published concerning the ethical duties owed by an interviewing lawyer and his or her law firm to a prospective client. These duties are addressed in Rule 1.18 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct.
When a person is a prospective client within the meaning of rule 1.18(a), the interviewing lawyer owes the prospective client the same duty of confidentiality pursuant to rules 1.6 and 1.9 even though no lawyer-client relationship thereafter ensues. (Rule 1.18(a)). The lawyer may not use or disclose such information without the prospective client’s informed written consent. (Rule 1.18(b), Rule(a)). This is so even if the information would be material to the representation of an existing client of the lawyer or the lawyer’s law firm.
An interviewing lawyer who receives material confidential information from a prospective client is prohibited from accepting representation materially adverse to the prospective client in the same or a substantially related matter. This prohibition extends to members of the lawyer’s law firm as well. These prohibitions may not apply if the client has provided informed, written consent either before the interview or after. Additionally, such prohibition can be avoided as to the lawyer’s law firm if the lawyer and his or her firm complied with Rule 1.18(d) which provides:
When the lawyer has received information that prohibits representation… representation of the affected client is permissible if: (1) both the affected client and the prospective client have given informed written consent, or (2) the lawyer who received the information took reasonable measures to avoid exposure to more information than was reasonably necessary to determine whether to represent the prospective client” and a timely ethical screen is put in place by the law firm and “written notice is timely given to the prospective client.
A significant aspect of the Opinion is its discussion of the “reasonable measures” that are contemplated under Rule 1.18(d). The Opinion explains those measures are only those that are necessary to determine whether to represent a prospective client as well as whether the proposed representation was ethically proper and economically acceptable. This may include:
This opinion discusses different scenarios that may arise when a lawyer has conducted an interview with a prospective client and the law firm is not engaged by the prospective client. Each scenario illustrates the conditions that may or may not permit an ethical screen in the absence of an informed consent, governed by rule 1.18. Although this opinion is not binding, it should provide useful guidance to assure compliance with the ethical duties owed to a prospective client.
*Marshall Whitney is a former member of CORPAC. To read the full opinion click here.
