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The book Radium Girls tells a true story that happened about 100 years ago. At one point in the book, a lawyer is representing about five victims (former employees) who are suing the US Radium Corporation for poisoning them. USRC offers a settlement, which includes a stipulation that the lawyer in the case must sign an agreement to not take up any additional cases against USRC (from anyone) or to provide any kind of assistance to any similar cases, ever again. The lawyer agrees to the settlement because he believes that the victims will not live long enough to take the case to trial.

This seems to me to be a ridiculous thing to ask a lawyer to agree to. If a lawyer can just agree to never represent anyone against a company, couldn’t the company just bribe every lawyer in town to sign a similar agreement, effectively making them above the law?

Was this really legal 100 years ago? Would it still be legal now?

If it matters, the book takes place mainly in New Jersey.

SegNerd
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1 Answers1

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In most of the United States, it would be illegal for the lawyer to offer or accept this deal. Under Model Rule of Professional Conduct 5.6:

A lawyer shall not participate in offering or making:

(a) a partnership, shareholders, operating, employment, or other similar type of agreement that restricts the right of a lawyer to practice after termination of the relationship, except an agreement concerning benefits upon retirement; or

(b) an agreement in which a restriction on the lawyer's right to practice is part of the settlement of a client controversy.

The comments to the rule make clear that it "prohibits a lawyer from agreeing not to represent other persons in connection with settling a claim on behalf of a client."

I don't know what the law in New Jersey would have been at the time, but my guess is that the deal would have been legal, as my recollection is that Rule 5.6 was adopted to address cases like this.

bdb484
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