This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, we dive into the fascinating world of lawyers dropping their clients. The term “drop” feels dramatic, conjuring images of being dumped, losing grip on your phone while on the open water or worse yet, being let go into a bottomless pit!
It’s not often as chaotic as all that, but the situations can carry plenty of drama. Here are three arguably wacky recent cases where lawyers decided to part ways with their clients, and a closer look at why this happens.
A Public Breakup
First up, we have Mark Lemley, a prominent attorney and Stanford law professor, who recently dropped Meta Platforms Inc. as a client. Lemley’s decision was not subtle. He publicly announced that he had “fired Meta,” citing what he described as CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “descent into toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness.” Lemley’s statement was tied to his concerns about Meta’s policy changes, including ending partnerships with third-party fact-checkers and scaling back diversity and inclusion initiatives. Publicly airing grievances about a client is unusual in the legal profession and may land Lemley in hot water. Lawyers must sometimes step away when their personal or professional values clash with a client’s actions—especially when they feel those clashes prevent them from acting in their client’s best interests.
Strategic Disagreements
Our second case involves Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and a once high-profile lawyer. Giuliani’s legal troubles have been piling up, and his attorneys, Kenneth Caruso and David Labkowski, decided they’d had enough. They filed a motion to withdraw from representing him in a defamation lawsuit brought by Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss. The reason? A “fundamental disagreement” over legal strategy. When lawyers and clients cannot align on how to handle a case, the relationship often fractures. Watching Giuliani’s public statements, you can easily imagine how his lawyers would disagree with him about how to handle his case.
Money Matters
The third case takes us to the cryptocurrency world, where the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher attempted to withdraw from representing Swan Bitcoin in a federal trade secrets lawsuit. The firm cited a “complete breakdown” in the attorney-client relationship and claimed Swan was refusing to pay its legal fees. Swan, on the other hand, opposed the withdrawal, leading to a legal battle over the firm’s attempt to exit the case. One would expect that the lawyers wish to be paid with real money rather imaginary money. Payment disputes like this can force lawyers to take drastic steps. Law is a service industry and business realities exist for lawyers too.
Why Do Lawyers Drop Clients?
What’s behind these drops? While the term might sound dramatic, lawyers don’t make these decisions lightly. They are bound by strict ethical rules and professional guidelines about when and how to end representation. Common reasons include:
• Conflicts of Interest: Lawyers must avoid situations where their ability to represent a client is compromised by competing interests.
• Client Dishonesty: When clients are not truthful with their attorneys, effective representation becomes impossible.
• Non-Payment of Fees: Representation is a professional service, and clients are expected to uphold their financial obligations.
• Breakdown in Communication: Without open communication, the attorney-client relationship cannot function.
The process of withdrawing is sometimes simple but the mental anguish for the lawyer is usually complex. Lawyers often need to obtain court approval, because clients should not be left without representation at critical moments. These procedural safeguards protect the client’s rights while allowing the lawyer to step away when necessary.
The Drama of “Dropping” Clients
These three stories highlight the unique pressures lawyers face. “Dropping” a client may sound abrupt, but it is usually the result of serious considerations and professional responsibilities. It’s not something lawyers do willy-nilly.
Weird and wacky? Maybe. But “dropping” a client has layers of drama and complexity, making it one of those moments where legal practice meets human unpredictability.
