U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury in Riverside sided with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which accused Winston of hiring away K&L Gates attorneys who had worked on the bankruptcy case for CalPERS. Winston represents National Public Finance Guarantee Corp., a bond insurer and rival of CalPERS in the ongoing battle over San Bernardino’s assets.
Jury said Winston could set up an effective confidentiality screen to distance the former K&L Gates attorneys from the firm’s ongoing bankruptcy work, according to Michael Sweet, a Fox Rothschild partner who monitored Thursday’s hearing in Riverside by telephone. But Jury concluded that Winston could not overcome the attorneys’ potential breach of duty to CalPERS under California Rules of Professional Conduct, Sweet said.
