An Examination Before and Behind the Entire Controversy Doctrine

The Entire Controversy doctrine is unintelligible to lawyers,the people who must make the crucial decisions in giving shape to acomplex civil litigation. There is no such thing ex ante-that is before dustin litigation has begun to settle-as an entire controversy

Lawyer Liability in Third Party Situations: The Meaning of the Kaye Scholer Case

The Kaye Scholer I case has excited much attention and alarm within the legalprofession. It is interpreted as greatly expanding the scope of lawyer liability to third parties and heralding much greater regulatory intervention into therelationship between lawyer and client. In some respects this interpretation isaccurate. The Kaye Scholer proceeding is at least a wake up call to the legalprofession, signalling that lawyers should be much more attentive to their legal and ethical obligations in transactional and regulatory matters. However, there is also much misunderstanding about Kaye Scholer, particularly the supposition that it created novel theories of lawyer liability to third parties. The purpose of this analysis is to explain what Kaye Scholer was about, what are the basic concepts of lawyer liability to third parties, and why the practicing bar should heed a wake up call

Under Shelter of Confidentiality

The law confers on lawyers two strong legal powers that endowus with unique authority in our constitutional system. One of thesepowers is the right to maintain litigation on behalf of clients againstothers. The other is that of maintaining secrets imparted by clients inthe course of seeking legal advice or assistance. Neither of thesepowers is unqualified