A lawyer involved in a Chancery Court case over employee recruitment has been allowed to withdraw from the case, rather than face possible disciplinary action.
Chancery Daily (subscription) reported the ruling is a rarity for the court that largely handles cases of companies incorporated in Delaware and has sometimes tangled with high-profile lawyers.
In its ruling, Vice Chancellor Samuel Glascock called out the attorney who was admitted pro hac vice in the LendUS case and referred the matter to the Office of Disciplinary Council. However, the ruling permitted the attorney to withdraw rather than revoke his admission. LendUS is based in California and incorporated in Delaware.
“Judges are lawyers. We understand the pressures and frustrations of practice. It is no pleasure to criticize the practice of others, none of our own eyes being timber- free. Nonetheless, when gamesmanship and incivility become a drag on justice, we must act,” Glasscock wrote.
Pro hac vice refers to an attorney allowed to be part of a Delaware case but not licensed in the state.
The lawyer in the case filed lawsuits and engaged in allegedly threatening and insulting behavior in another state, Chancery Daily reported.
Following a video recording of a deposition, the legal counsel moved to withdraw.
Delaware attorneys, provided representation, but were not part of the sanctions case. Chancery Daily noted that the decision provided a framework for what to do and what not do for pro hac vice attorneys.
The decision noted that a Delaware attorney engaging in similar behavior would have faced sanctions and disciplinary proceedings.
