McNeil’s complaint alleges that Rule 1.10 (b) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits Cozen O’Connor from serving as Mahoney’s counsel for the arbitration. It also claims the firm only attempted to prevent the sharing of information about the case—erecting a “screen”–after McNeil’s new lawyers requested that Cozen O’Connor stop representing Mahoney.
Cozen O’Connor says the ethics complaint was filed in bad faith and should be dismissed. According to the answer filed on June 30, the firm said, “This is not a ‘multimillion-dollar representation,’ but rather a collection action where McNeil is engaging in a tactical effort to avoid paying the amounts long outstanding due and owing to Mahoney for services rendered. If McNeil or his counsel had bothered to inquire concerning an ethics screen, rather than filing the complaint to gain a tactical advantage, they would have learned that there was no basis to believe, suspect or imply that McNeil’s former client confidential information was at risk.”
