Download Lawyers' Professional Responsibility: Case Study on Conflicts & Honesty in Legal Practice and more Exams Law in PDF only on Docsity! EXAM#_______________ Page 15 of 15 Neitz: Professional Responsibility, Final Exam, 2012SP PART II: Essay Question (650 points) Laura Lawyer graduated from law school in May 2004. While waiting for her bar results, Laura was hired in June to be a law clerk for the City Attorney’s office. One month later, in July, she was assigned to an exciting land development case. A major real estate development company, Develop It All, Inc., had purchased land adjacent to a city park. Develop It All was trying to build a hazardous waste disposal site on the property. Laura wrote and filed the City’s complaint, alleging that the developer did not properly conduct environmental impact studies. When she learned that she passed the bar in November, her supervisor gave her a permanent position at the City Attorney’s office. Laura successfully convinced a court to issue an injunction against Develop It All’s hazardous waste site in 2006. Two years later, in 2008, Laura decided to leave the City Attorney’s office and go into private practice. She was offered a job in the environmental law department of a local law firm, Kanning Law Group. On her first day of work, Laura was assigned to work on behalf of Kanning’s client, Develop It All, Inc. Develop It All is now trying to construct the hazardous waste site on the outskirts of town, near the airport, and is being sued again by the City Attorney’s office. Laura’s first task is to review the fee agreement between the Kanning Law Group and Develop It all. Laura notices that William Kanning accepted 1000 shares of stock in Develop It All, Inc., in exchange for “ongoing legal services.” After the first 100 hours billed every year, the agreement states that William Kanning will charge Develop It all $1000 per hour. Laura is surprised that Develop It All has this much money to spend on legal fees. Given her environmental expertise, Laura is assigned to fly to Washington, D.C. to observe a negotiation in a different environmental law case involving the Kanning Law Group’s other large corporate client, Big Oil. Laura’s immediate supervisor, Sam, directs Laura to review the deposition transcripts from the Develop It All case while flying to the Big Oil negotiation. Sam tells Laura to make sure to enter the travel time and the transcript reviewing time on her billing timesheet. At the Big Oil negotiation, Laura watches as William Kanning tells opposing counsel that “Big Oil will not settle this case for more than $20 million.” Laura knows that Big Oil is actually willing to settle the case for as much as $40 million. She is upset that Mr. Kanning lied in a negotiation, and she decides to report his action to the State Bar. Immediately upon her return from Washington, Laura calls the State Bar reporting hotline. She tells the State Bar that Mr. Kanning lied about the actual settlement value of the case, which is around $40 million. Kanning is called in to the State Bar for disciplinary hearings. Discuss the professional responsibility issues raised by the above facts, under both the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct rules and (if they differ) the California Rules of Professional Conduct. You need not cite the rules or statutory provisions by number. You may also discuss any applicable caselaw. END OF ESSAY QUESTION; END OF EXAM
