Under what circumstances will an attorney be liable to a vendor of services engaged for the benefit of the client? This is a practical problem that will be addressed in this article, and hopefully, by review of the basic principles we as attorneys can avoid liability as well as litigation centering on such issues. It should be underscored that these are not typically insurable interests.
In Kroll Associates Inc. v. Sands Brothers & Co. and Littman Krooks Roth & Ball P.C.,1 a law firm, its client, and investigative firm entered into a contract whereby the investigative firm was to conduct an investigation and periodically report on the progress of the investigation in reports marked “Privileged and Confidential Attorney Work Product.” The contract stated the terms, and both the law firm and the clients were to sign the writing. The financial terms were that a substantial retainer was to be paid and the periodic invoices were to be sent to the law firm.
