Risk Update

Conflicts Allegations — Catholic Church, Juul/Altria

Posted Dan Bressler

“Ex-Client Sues Am Law 200 Firm Over Its Catholic Church Representation, Alleging Conflict” —

  • “A New Mexico woman is suing her former lawyers at Phoenix-based law firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie for malpractice related to its representation of her in bringing allegations that she was sexually abused by a Catholic school teacher.”
  • “Attorneys for the former client, referred to as “Jane Doe” in the suit to protect her identity, said Lewis Roca attorneys steered her away from filing a civil lawsuit against Rhode Island Catholic institution Portsmouth Abbey School for failing to protect her from a predatory teacher when she was a student from 2012 to 2014. It wasn’t until the middle of 2020 when “Doe” learned that she could have brought a civil case against the school had she done so before turning 21, according to the suit.”
  • “The complaint also argues that Lewis Roca failed to disclose to “Doe” potential conflicts of interest in representing her due to the school’s payment of her case’s lawyer’s fees and the firm’s history of defending the Catholic Church against claims brought by survivors of clerical abuse.”
  • “‘If you have such a clear conflict where you routinely represent the church in cases brought by victims of sexual abuse, you have an obligation to tell that to a prospective or new client who has a potential case against the church, because there’s an obvious conflict there,’ Neil Gehlawat, an attorney with Los Angeles firm Taylor & Ring who is representing the unnamed plaintiff, said in an interview.””The firm also failed to inform Doe that they routinely defended the Catholic Church in claims brought by abuse survivors, and had a potential conflict of interest when Portsmouth Abbey paid for plaintiff’s lawyers’ fees, the complaint alleged.”
  • “Reached for comment Wednesday, a spokesperson for Lewis Roca said in an emailed statement that the claims in Doe’s suit are without merit. ‘The firm intends to respond to the complaint by showing that the written scope of the firm’s engagement was narrow and did not include the subjects alleged in the complaint, and that the firm did not have a conflict of interest. We know the true facts will come out, and the firm looks forward to its day in court,’ the firm statement said.”

“AG did not fully disclose campaign contributions from firm tapped to lead fight against JUUL” —

  • “When Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison decided to sue a giant e-cigarette manufacturer last year, he called it his duty to take on the legal fight. On Thursday, he expanded the lawsuit against JUUL Labs, Inc. by adding tobacco company Altria to the list of defendants in the case. Altria bought a 35% stake in JUUL in 2018.”
  • “Except, Ellison and his staff are not actually leading the court battle against those companies which are accused of deceptively advertising addictive products to youth. Instead, the attorney general picked two Minneapolis-based law firms to handle a case that could potentially lead to millions of dollars in legal fees if the state wins or settles out of court.”
  • “Yet, when Ellison asked lawmakers to review the contract last year, he did not disclose that one of the firms, Robins Kaplan, had been a longtime supporter of his career in public office. The firm’s political action committee donated to his run for attorney general as well as his previous congressional campaigns, according to state and federal campaign finance records reviewed by 5 INVESTIGATES. Ellison also did not tell lawmakers that a partner at the firm, Richard Allyn, led Ellison’s transition team after he won the election in November 2018.”
  • “But Richard Painter, an expert in legal ethics at the University of Minnesota, says Ellison’s failure to report even the appearance of a conflict raises serious ethical concerns. ‘The decision-makers shouldn’t have to prowl around on the internet looking for campaign contributions,” Painter said. “It should all be right there in the paperwork for the contract.'”
  • “While both firms acknowledged having partners that supported Ellison’s campaign for attorney general, they claimed that support did not present ‘any factual or potential conflicts of interest,’ according to a memo provided to the Legislative Advisory Committee, which reviewed the contract.”