On the newest episode of The Digital Edge podcast, When Lawyers Get Divorced: Ethically Breaking up a Law Firm, Sharon D. Nelson and Jim Calloway ask legal ethics expert Tom Spahn about the proper way to professionally deal with the various situations that arise when a law firm splits up. He explains that lawyers and their firms should remain civil and open to negotiation before the lawyer has left. Firms have run into trouble while trying to penalize leaving employees on an individual basis. He discusses the ethically proper way to deal with unfinished business doctrines, document retention programs, and fiduciary duties to clients. Due to technology, there are new issues to consider including digital files or property ownership of domain names. Overall, however, Spahn emphasizes that every partner has a continuing duty to make sure every client is adequately served.

This episode comes with special downloadable bonus content. We include “8 Resources to Help Lawyers When Switching Firms,” with links to some great state bar association information, white papers, guides and forms on this topic, as well as some in-depth articles. Feel free to pass this link along to your lawyer friends who may be finding that “breaking up is hard to do.”