Legal Question in Discrimination Law in Pennsylvania

Federal Gender Discrimination Case

I need to know if the attorney who has been representing me, who filed the Federal Court Gender Discrimination Suit on my behalf- has to go to Federal Court with me once the case has been filed. Since I have spent over $50,000 in attorney fees fighting this combined gender discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination suit at this point, does he have an obligation to see this through in Federal Court?

Should the attorney be able to advise my employer in similar issues- and yet represent me with this case? I found a web site he has -evidencing he has this side business- in which he and the person who told me about him advise large employers of their legal options in dealing with the EEOC in cases similar to mine? Isnt this a conflict of interest if the employer is large, but still the same employer?


Asked on 1/07/01, 9:20 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Thomas Martin Law Office of Thomas Martin

Re: Federal Gender Discrimination Case

Whether your lawyer has an obligation to continue to represent you will depend in part on the nature of the agreement you reached with the lawyer at the start of the representation. In general a lawyer can withdraw from representing a client only if the client's interests can be protected.

If your lawyer provided consulting services to your employer in the past, whether there exists a continuing conflict would depend in large part on the nature and scope of that consultation as well as the amount of time that has passed. This would certainly be something that your lawyer should have told you about at the beginning.

Your lawyer could not ethically provide consulting services to your employer and represent you at the same time.

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Answered on 1/11/01, 8:47 am


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