Heller Ehrman LLP, Plaintiff and Appellant v. Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Defendant and Respondent. and Related Cases.

Summary

The court held that a dissolved California law firm has no property interest in unfinished hourly-fee matters or in profits earned by former partners after those matters are transferred to new firms. The firm's postdissolution rights are limited to compensation for work performed before dissolution and for narrow winding-up activities necessary to preserve, transfer, or collect on the matters. The court concluded that this rule protects client choice of counsel, lawyer mobility, and the statutory structure governing partnership dissolution.