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practice aid RISKS & RESPONSIBILITIES OF LOCAL COUNSEL (continued from page 23) you are being asked to serve as local counsel, and make sure you are comfortable with the nature of the matter in which you will be involved. There may be firms, lawyers or clients with which you simply do not wish to be affiliated, and the matter may be one that you do not have the expertise to handle, even as local counsel. Third, make sure you understand the obligations under local court rules that you will be assuming by appearing in the matter. Fourth, draft an appropriate engagement letter and be sure to send it to the client—not just to the out-of-state law firm that approached you. Define the scope of your representation, keeping in mind that you cannot disclaim obligations imposed by rules of procedure, local court rules, or ethics rules. See Armor, 535 S.E.2d at 749-50. If local rules impose responsibilities on you that out-of-state counsel or the client may not anticipate, such as your mandatory appearance at all court proceedings or depositions, make them aware of these obligations so that they do not balk at your involvement, or, perhaps more importantly, recoil in anger upon receiving your related bills. Fifth, do not agree to do things with which you are uncomfortable on the basis that you are merely local counsel. For example, if you are going to sign a pleading, read it first. If there are statements in the pleading that concern you (we are not talking grammar here) insist that the document be suitably revised before signing. Certainly, lawyers cannot require clients to indemnify them for malpractice liability. A question that sometimes comes up in connection with local counsel representations, however, is whether local counsel can require either the client or out-of-state law firm to indemnify them against sanctions. With respect to clients the answer clearly is no. See Curtis v. Meijer, Inc., CIV. A. No. 86-40361, at *2 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 28, 1987) (refusing to allow indemnification by client for sanctions); Ass’n of the Bar of the City of N.Y., Comm. on Prof’l & Judicial Ethics, Formal Op. 1989-3 (1989) (same). We think many courts would take the same approach to indemnification agreements between law firms, though law on this point is admittedly scarce. Three final thoughts on engaging local counsel, all from the perspective of the firm looking for local counsel. First, do not wait until the last minute to file pleadings or respond to discovery if those pleadings or discovery responses require local counsel’s signature. There is always a risk that your local counsels’ other commitments may limit their availability on short notice. Second, if you practice in a big city in your state and are asked, for example, to defend a large financial services company or manufacturer in a rural venue in the state, consider whether you should engage local counsel even though, as a member of your state’s bar, local counsel is not required. There are some venues where local counsel can be exceedingly important, whether it involves relations with the court, relations with opposing counsel, knowing local witnesses or jurors, etc. If you are unreasonably “home-towned” in pre-trial rulings or at trial, your client may wonder what you did to guard against such unfairness. Third, take advantage of your local counsels’ knowledge of local practice and procedure. Consult with them in addition to reading local rules yourself. The failure to comply with local rules is occasionally disastrous. See, e.g., Seyler v. Burlington N. Santa Fe Corp., 121 F. Supp. 2d 1352, 1354 (D. Kan. 2000) (faulting plaintiffs’ counsel for not filing reply memorandum which, while not required by rule, was permitted); Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc. v. Home Prod. Mktg., Inc., 935 F. Supp. 1010 (N.D. Ill. 1996) (failing to comply with local rule on summary judgment results in facts being deemed admitted). Debt 3 March/April 2007 24 Douglas R. Richmond is Senior Vice President in the Professional Services Group of Aon Risk Services. Aon’s Professional Services Group is the world’s largest broker of insurance for professional services firms. Doug consults with Aon’s many large law firm clients on professional responsibility and liability issues. Before joining Aon in Chicago, Doug was a partner with Armstrong Teasdale LLP in Kansas City, Missouri (1989-2004), where he had a national trial and appellate practice. In 1998, he was named the nation’s top defense lawyer in an insurance industry poll as reported in the publications Inside Litigation and Of Counsel. He is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI), the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC). Doug has also been selected to The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of legal malpractice, personal injury litigation, and railroad law. In 2003, the Euromoney Legal Media Group named him as one of the nation’s top insurance and reinsurance lawyers. He has published roughly 50 articles in university law reviews, and many more articles in other scholarly and professional journals. Doug teaches Legal Ethics at the Northwestern University School of Law and he is a regular National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) faculty member. He previously taught Trial Advocacy and Insurance Law at the University of Kansas School of Law, and Insurance Law and a seminar on Damages at the University of Missouri School of Law. Doug earned his J.D. at the University of Kansas, an M. Ed. from the University of Nebraska, and his B.S. from Fort Hays State University.
Why should you sponsor the 19th Annual CLLA Breakfast at the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges? Sponsorship Opportunities COMMERCIAL LAW LEAGUE OF AMERICA 19th ANNUAL BREAKFAST Thursday, October 11, 2007 In conjunction with National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Oct. 10-13, 2007 Orlando Marriott World Center All sponsors will be listed in the CLLA Bankruptcy Section elecctronic newsletter, the CLLA publication Debt 3 and on the CLLA website. LEVEL 1 – $20,000 • Lead placement on all signage/ promotions, including company logo • Banner on Dais • Website Banner Ad • Full Page Back Cover Ad of Educational Materials LEVEL 2 – $10,000 • Prominent placement on all signage/ promotions, including company logo • Website Banner Ad • Inside Back Cover of Educational Materials 1/2 page ad (full color/bleed) LEVEL 3 – $5,000 • Promotion in all publications and handouts • Company Logo/ Banner prominently displayed • Black/White ads in inside cover of education book LEVEL 4 – $3,500 • Promotion in all publications and handouts • Company Logo/ Banner prominently displayed • Black/White ads on sponsor pages of program materials 1. Because Dave Barry, humour columnist is the speaker. 2. Because the Lawrence P. King Award for Excellence in the Field of Bankruptcy will be presented. 3. Because breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This year we bring you the profoundly funny humor columnist— Dave Barry—a syndicated columnist whose work appears in more than 500 newspapers worldwide. Who Will See Your Sponsorship? • The audience consists of a “Who’s Who” of insolvency professionals. • The CLLA Bankruptcy Section is the largest membership Section of the CLLA, with members in every state in the US and in more than 20 countries around the world. • The NCBJ brings in a record number of judges and insolvency professionals from across the US and the world. • NCBJ Annual Conference averages an attendance of more than 2,000 professionals with the annual Hot & Emerging Education Program averaging between 700 and 800 attendees. Questions? Paula Lucas c/o CLLA 70 E. Lake St. Suite 630, Chicago, IL 60601 (p) 800.978.CLLA / (f) 312.781.2010 plucas@clla.org / www.clla.org Commercial Law League of America LEADING THE WAY 70 E. Lake Street, Suite 630 • Chicago, IL 60601 • 312.781.2000 • www.clla.org
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Page 23 and 24: MEETINGNEW YORK 87th SAVE THE DATE
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