The Third Circuit has declared its decision to not revive parts of the legal malpractice lawsuits aimed at Polsinelli PC by an online pharmacy. The court found that the law firm’s act of delegating substantial portions of the pharmacy and its former CEO’s defense to co-counsel at WilmerHale did not constitute a violation of the firm’s contractual obligations. This verdict suggests that bigger law firms’ practice of sharing defense responsibilities with co-counsels is permissable and does not imply negligence or malpractice.
The detailed proceedings of this case are documented at Law360.
The implications of this development could be significant for legal professionals working in large corporations and law firms, where such delegation of responsibilities is a commonplace practice. The Third Circuit’s verdict essentially affirms that agencies have the discretion to involve co-counsels in their defense operations without breaching their contractual duties.