Trautenberg v. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, 06 Civ. 14211 reported today:

"Plaintiff David H. Trautenberg sued defendants the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, attorney Brad S. Karp, and attorney Daniel J. Toal (collectively "Paul Weiss"), for breach of fiduciary duty and violation of New York Judiciary Law §487. Paul Weiss moved to dismiss, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), for failure to state a claim. The motion to dismiss is granted.

"Plaintiff and plaintiff’s attorneys, however, were aware of Paul Weiss’s dual role and its potential for conflict. On many occasions during the negotiations, plaintiff’s attorneys told Paul Weiss that its representation of Citigroup against plaintiff was improper. On one such occasion, Karp responded by telling plaintiff’s attorneys to "stop lecturing" him. Compl. ¶49. In addition, during the legal preparation for the WorldCom bankruptcy litigation, plaintiff "continually objected to Defendants’ representation of Citigroup/SSB in connection with his employment matter and Defendants’ conduct in ‘holding him hostage’ with respect to his employment matter until the completion of his WorldCom civil suit testimony." Id. at ¶61. Despite these objections, Paul Weiss did not withdraw as counsel for Citigroup in the negotiations, nor did plaintiff or his attorneys take any action to force Paul Weiss to withdraw from the negotiations or discontinue their dual representation in the other proceedings. "