Roger L. Cook
Partner
San Francisco
http://www.townsend.com/attorneys/bi...

Hakan Lans v. Acer America Corporation, 1998-2002. Lead trial counsel for defendant Acer America Corp. Defense of computer graphics controller patents in D.D.C. Dismissed on defense motion for lack of standing. Affirmed by U.S. Ct. of Appeals for Federal Circuit. Settled.

Uniboard v. Acer America Corporation, 1998-2002. Lead trial counsel for defendant. Defense of computer graphics controller patents in D.D.C. Dismissed on defense motion. Affirmed by U.S. Ct. of Appeals for Federal Circuit. Settled.

Successive representation is another area where attorneys need to be careful in not having a conflict of interest. What this involves is an attorney representing a client in a matter which may be adverse to that of a former client. Since there are many more attorneys and more options for most people, this issue is arising more frequently. An attorney can be disqualified for such conduct if the interests of the former and current client are really and truly adverse in nature and if the past and current matters are closely related in some way. An attorney in such a position would risk breaching confidentiality to represent the successive client.