Fiduciary Duty and the Former Partner

Law firms and accounting firms have become a target of regulators and other plaintiffs in litigation connected with the savings and loan crisis. As a matter of partnership law, all of the partners within a partnership, whether or not personally involved, may be held liable. Despite the lack of case law directly on point, there are convincing arguments that fiduciary duty comes to an end once the partner and partnership have agreed to a settlement with each other particularly where the settlement offer has been disclosed to the former partner.