Beware of Strangers Bearing Gifts – the Perils of Purloined or Privileged Evidence

As recounted in Virgil’s Aeneid, the gift of the wooden horse brought an unexpected end to the Trojan War. Sometimes, in litigation, gifts come with a price. Most evidence is derived through the legitimate process of discovery, yet evidence may also arrive in nontraditional ways such as the anonymous delivery of documents or the appearance of a third-party witness who offers a hard drive containing materials relevant to your case.

[Full Article at Los Angeles County Bar Association]

New Theories for Non-Clients to Seek Disqualification of Counsel

Most disqualification cases arise from a conflict of interest involving disclosure or the threat of disclosure of confidential information.1 On occasion, a disqualification motion will be made upon the alleged unethical conduct of adverse counsel. In some cases, courts have held that a litigant may have standing to assert a basis for disqualification of the opposing counsel even where there was no pre-existing attorney-client relationship between that counsel and the moving party, and confidential information was not involved.

[Full Article at Los Angeles County Bar Association]