Why A Law Firm Partner Can Be Expelled For Following The Ethics Rules

In Bohatch v. Butler & Binion the Texas Supreme Court held that a law firm partner needed to follow her ethical duty to report her partner’s alleged overbilling but the law firm could properly expel the reporting partner for doing so because among other things the trust and confidence needed for a partnership trumped any purported policy protecting a law firm whistleblower. And once she reported her fellow partner that attorney lost the trust of the partnership. This Catch-22 troubles many because a partner can either follow the ethical rules and report a fellow partner but potentially lose her job or ignore the ethical rules by not reporting but keep one’s job. This work concludes that the court correctly decided Bohatch but it presents a new framework to analyze this contentious situation. The analysis focuses on the attorney’s decision-making process and free will to become a partner at a certain firm as well as the freedom of contract to sign or revise a partnership agreement that does not protect an attorney who encounters this Catch-22 scenario. This work also provides some practical advice on how to choose one’s partners wisely.