Risk Update

Conflicts and Confidentiality — Seder Conflict Called Out of Order, Data Center Conflicts in the News, Law Firm Clerk Confidentiality Combat

Posted Dan Bressler

From the “This is the bread of our confliction” department, comes this catch from David Kluft: “Do I need to run a conflict check at my Passover seder?” —

  • “A man attended a Passover seder and took the opportunity to seek some free legal advice from his host’s daughter, a NY lawyer.
  • “Four years later, other lawyers at the NY lawyer’s firm filed suit against the man in a PA court. The man moved to disqualify, claiming that the seder conversation created an implied attorney client relationship with the firm.”
  • “The firm responded in part by stating that although the guy was at the seder, there was no legal advice given and no ‘one-on-one’ conversation between them that he could have possibly seen as confidential ([Kluft’s] Note: This rings true for anyone who has ever tried to have a private conversation at a seder).”
  • “Also, it turned out that since the seder, the firm had been adverse to the man in other matters and he didn’t say anything about a conflict then. The Court therefore denied the motion, holding that ‘a purported conflict of interest is not a chit to be held in a litigant’s pocket until a rainy day.'”
  • Decision: here.

“Ethics, Transparency, and Lawmaking in Charleston” —

  • “The previous edition of Country Roads News reported that West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw was hired as legal counsel to represent Fundamental Data. In addition to his leadership role in the state legislature, Hanshaw is an attorney for the Charleston law firm Bowles Rice.”
  • “We now know Fundamental Data wasn’t Hanshaw’s first data center client. West Virginia Watch reports that Hanshaw also represents a developer seeking approval for a facility in Mason County. Hanshaw notified the Department of Environmental Protection’s Air Quality Board on February 12 — in the middle of the 2026 legislative session — that he represents the developer of that facility.”
  • “The situation has raised alarms among numerous government ethics watchdogs who say it’s a conflict of interest for Hanshaw to have clients who could profit enormously from legislation that the Speaker helped guide to enactment.”
  • “Meanwhile, the state legislature is making it harder for the public to know who’s trying to influence legislation in Charleston. As Mountain State Spotlight reports, the state legislature recently enacted a law redacting certain information about political donors.”

More background on this: here.

“Williams & Connolly Sues Former Clerk For Posting Confidential Information” —

  • “Williams & Connolly is suing a former law clerk in D.C. court, alleging he posted confidential client information on social media. The law firm, represented by Paul Hastings, alleges that Dante Chambers, in the last week, has posted screenshots of Williams & Connolly emails and other materials with potential client names and litigation information, in a complaint filed in Superior Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday.”
  • “‘Intentionally disclosing to the public a law firm’s confidential information, including attorney-client privileged and attorney work product material, jeopardizes bedrock client protections in our legal system, violates professional ethics rules attorneys pledge to adhere to and is a blatant breach of a law firm employee’s fiduciary duties and contractual confidentiality obligations,’ the complaint reads.”
  • “On or around March 17, 2026, Chambers, according to the suit, began posting what is now ‘hundreds of communications on Instagram related to Williams & Connolly, some of which contained confidential information related to the firm’s clients.'”
  • “The suit further alleges that some of Chambers’ social media posts invite readers to contact the defendant for more details about the firm and that firm lawyers ‘don’t know the extent of what I have.'”
  • “Among the info he allegedly shared, Williams & Connolly said he posted on March 18 a picture of confidential William & Connolly litigation materials—specifically, a picture of a physical printout of an email chain regarding client work while he was a firm employee—that contains confidential attorney work product and identifies the relevant client. A subsequent post the next day said: ‘If you want these litigation materials I prepared in fall 2024, go ahead and respond to this with your number and I’ll shoot them over to you via text sometime over the weekend next few days.'”
  • “‘About 20 people currently have them, and everyone says they’re a fun read,’ he allegedly said.”
  • “One March 24 Instagram post said: ‘Anyways no more Williams & Connolly info today. Just know I got more and they don’t know the extent of what I have because they never required me to get rid of anything I kept (I told you they’re BUMS). If anyone can get a message to Trump’s camp, tell them Dante said send the FBI all up in there and defend our nation from a devastating cyberattack that could cripple our countries legal and satellite infrastructure.'”
  • “Williams & Connolly alleges that Chambers has made ‘numerous’ posts threatening physical violence against the firm’s partners, including a death threat posted on Thursday against a firm partner.”
  • “The suit says Chambers worked at Williams & Connolly as a clerk from December 4, 2023, until Sept. 22, 2024. He previously worked for Williams & Connolly as a summer associate from July 27, 2020, to Aug. 21, 2020.”
  • “According to his LinkedIn profile, Chambers graduated from Stanford Law School in 2021 and then worked as a judicial clerk to a Utah federal judge and a clerk to a judge on on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.”