You’re the One That I (Don’t) Want

Attorney Susan is a successful and highly-regarded plaintiff’s attorney with vast experience in complex personal injury matters. She is currently representing one of dozens of plaintiffs in a large, complex mass-tort case against ABC Corporation. Most of the plaintiffs have separate counsel because of the potential of conflicts that could arise during the litigation. Because of Susan’s reputation and experience, she is one of the de facto leaders on the plaintiffs’ side.

ABC Corporation is concerned about Susan’s reputation and experience in this field as well as her ability to successfully guide the litigation. In an effort to remove her from the plaintiffs’ team, ABC makes her client an overly generous settlement offer. Given the facts of the case and her client’s specific injuries, she would ordinarily accept this offer or something close to it. However, ABC’s settlement offer also stipulates that Susan must agree that she will not represent any other parties in this lawsuit. Moreover, she must agree that she will not represent any parties who are adverse to ABC for five years from the date of the settlement.

Susan and her client both want to accept the offer, but Susan is concerned about whether the offer is permitted by the ethics rules.