When Lawyers Sell Their Reputations (And Their Souls)
Posted: March 31, 2014 Filed under: General Law | Tags: bridget kelly, chris christie, george washington bridge, internal investigation, randy mastro Leave a commentA lawyer’s reputation has value. A good reputation serves as a proxy for years of hard work and success in representing clients, particularly in difficult cases. There is nothing wrong, improper or unethical about a lawyer using his or her hard-earned reputation to attract new clients in a highly competitive market for legal services.
But a lawyer needs to be very careful not to sell his soul when a potential client wants to retain his services, not for his skills and experience, but for his reputation. This is particularly true when an individual or a business retains a lawyer to conduct an internal investigation and to issue a public report of his findings and conclusions–like the report recently issued by former federal prosecutor Randy Mastro, a partner with the distinguished firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. The report ostensibly clears New Jersey Governor Chris Christie of any wrongdoing in connection with the George Washington Bridge-closure scandal.