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Thomas F. Maffei and Christopher R. Blazejewski quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article on ‘hot potato doctrine’

Thomas F. Maffei, senior counsel, and Christopher R. Blazejewski, partner, were quoted in a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article published on April 18, titled “Attorneys cautioned not to read too much into cooling of ‘hot potato doctrine.'” This article discusses the recent American Bar Association (ABA) Formal Opinion 516 which provides guidance on withdrawing from ongoing client representation.

From the article:

“Missing from the majority opinion but incorporated into the hot potato doctrine is the principle that loyalty to the client is an essential part of the withdrawal equation, said Boston attorney Thomas F. Maffei. In his view, the ethics opinion is a nod toward a worrisome trend of viewing the law as more of an industry than a profession.

“What’s clear from this opinion is that loyalty alone does not protect the integrity of the attorney-client relationship,” Maffei said.

When a client hires a lawyer, he added, “the client makes the judgment and assumes that the lawyer is going to stick with the client through thick and thin, through the end, and only withdraw if I don’t pay him or he’s getting sick or some other reason, but not because [the lawyer] just wants to go with some other more lucrative client.”

The “good news” is that it is and will remain hard to terminate a matter — especially a litigation matter — without causing “significant adverse effect” on the client, Maffei said.

“Nothing in this ABA opinion should cause lawyers to think it is now easier to withdraw,” he said.

Click here to continue reading on Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (subscriber-only content).