Associates cannot escape liability for malicious prosecution by saying they were only following a partner's instructions, the California Court of Appeal ruled Friday in a case it described as "a poster child" for improper purpose.
"There is a clear imbalance of power between an often younger associate and an older partner or supervisor, and situations may arise where an associate is put into a difficult position by questioning a more experienced attorney's choices," Justice Eileen Moore wrote in Jay v. Mahaffey. "Nonetheless, however, every attorney admitted to practice in this state has independent duties that are not reduced or eliminated because a superior has directed a certain course of action."
