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ARTICLE · 25 OCTOBER 2016

Non-Party Has Sufficient Interest to Disqualify Law Firm From Second Circuit Case

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
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Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

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Because disqualification can have a huge impact on both law firms and clients alike, we pay special attention to any decisions on the subject.

United StatesLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Nicole Hyland
Nicole Hyland
Ronald Minkoff
Ronald Minkoff
John Harris
John Harris
Richard Maltz
Richard Maltz
Tyler Maulsby
Tyler Maulsby
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At the request of a non-party, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently disqualified the law firm BakerHostetler LLP ("Baker") from representing its client Prevezon Holdings Ltd. ("Prevezon"). The extraordinary decision made clear that a lawyer's former client can successfully assert a disqualification motion even when the former client is not a party in the litigation. Because disqualification can have a huge impact on both law firms and clients alike, we pay special attention to any decisions on the subject.

What happened.

In 2013, the U.S. government brought a civil forfeiture action against Prevezon based on allegations that Prevezon benefitted from a scheme to defraud the Russian government in 2008 and laundered portions of the fraud proceeds through New York real estate holdings. Baker represented Prevezon in this action. One of the victims of the alleged fraud was an entity called Hermitage. In 2008, Hermitage hired Baker to investigate the

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