In this article we examine Formal Opinion, 489, from the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility of the American Bar Association, issued on Dec. 4, 2019, titled “Obligations Related to Notice When Lawyers Change Firms.” Although falling short of being a comprehensive analysis of all of the issues that arise in connection with lateral movement of lawyers, it provides a helpful summary of the rules that govern lawyers and their law firms in the often fraught context of lateral movement and a roadmap for what lawyers and law firms can and cannot do in these circumstances.

The opinion focuses on the reciprocal duties of lawyers and law firms, both to each other and to clients, which arise when lawyers seek to make a lateral move to another firm. Notably, in an era where it seems that law firms are increasingly seeking to restrict individual lawyers’ ability to make lateral moves, the opinion’s central theme is that such restrictions may violate both the letter and the spirit of the Rules of Professional Conduct (the rules).