Law Firms
Departing lawyers who copied firm’s databases may be liable for unfair business practices, top state court says
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Departing lawyers who downloaded a “treasure trove” of proprietary materials from their Boston law firm may be liable for unfair or deceptive business practices, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled.
The court ruled for the Governo Law Firm in its lawsuit against a group of nonequity partners who at first made an offer to buy Governo and then started practice at their new law a day after their offer was rejected. The lawyers had already incorporated the new law firm, CMBG3, and they used the downloaded materials in their practice, according to the court’s April 9 opinion.