Law Firm Overview

EXPERIENCE

Twenty five years experience in ethics/professional responsibility/risk management advising senior law firm management and partners. Over thirty years experience preparing and trying complex cases before federal and state courts and administrative agencies throughout the United States.

George R. Clark, Jan. 2004-present
Attorney at Law
910 17th Street, N.W., Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20006

Solo practice exclusively representing law firms, lawyers, and their clients in all aspects of professional responsibility, ethics, and risk management. Act as expert witness on professional responsibility and standard of care issues.

Render advice and opinions and consult regularly with law firms and individual lawyers on all issues related to professional responsibility and ethics including, e.g., business intake decisions, conflicts of interest, lateral hiring, attorney-client privilege, disqualification, fee disputes, Rule 11, dissatisfied clients, bar complaints and admissions, lawyers changing firms, insurance coverage, attorney discipline, attorney client privilege, advertising, risk management policies and procedures, engagement letters, subpoenas, mergers, and business subsidiaries.

Reed Smith LLP, Partner, 1989 - Dec. 2003
Washington, D.C.

• Ethics/professional responsibility/risk management partner for Reed Smith D.C. with extensive firmwide duties for 1000 lawyer firm with 18 U.S. offices and U.K. (ALAS Loss Prevention partner until firm withdrew from ALAS).
• Claims investigation and management, including selecting, supervising and actively working with outside counsel and insurers, in claims and suits nationwide.
• Insurer audits and annual and loss prevention meetings with insurers.
• Design, develop, and implement law firm ethics training and counseling program.
• Prosecute and defend as first-chair, trials (up to 10 weeks and 100 or more depositions) of numerous complex and protracted civil cases, with recoveries ranging up to $200 million. Appeals argued in several U.S. Courts of Appeal and various state Supreme Courts.
• Extensive experience mentoring/training lawyers during 10 years as Assistant Litigation Group Head; developed and implemented a 2 year long trial training program.

Pierson, Ball & Dowd, Partner 1980-89, Associate 1973-80, 1973-1989
Washington, D.C.
(Merged into Reed Smith 1989)

• ALAS Loss Prevention partner for malpractice insurance and in-house counsel on ethics/conflict of interest and related issues.
• Prepared and tried complex cases in federal and state courts across U.S., on health care, communications, libel and invasion of privacy, antitrust, and business tort issues.
• Served on Executive Committee during Reed Smith merger negotiations; negotiated final agreement.
• Head of Litigation Practice Group (5 years).

Law Clerk for the Honorable William B. Jones, 1972-1973
United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Areas of Practice

• Professional Malpractice Law

Published Works

• Media Defense Resource Center, Annual Fifty State Survey of Media Libel Law, District of Columbia Section (Book on U.S. Libel Law Published Annually), 1982-2003
• Appearances on CNN (including Burden of Proof), the BBC and the Financial Times, 1998-present

Classes and Seminars

• "Ethical, Effective Fee Agreements", ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education Teleconference, 2009
• "Ethical Issues in Documenting Lawyer-Client Relationships", ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education Teleconference, 2008
• ABA Firm Counsel Project Roundtable, How to Take Advantage of the Teachable Moment, Qualcomm Proceedings, 2008
• "At the Intersection of Legal Ethics and Globalization: International Conflicts of Law in Lawyer Regulation", Association Of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, 2008
• ABA Firm Counsel Project Roundtable, "Not Every" Lawyer Dreams of Being a Novelist" (Lawyers Acting as Directors and Lawyers Acting as Expert Witnesses), 2008
• "Third-Party Equity Holdings in Law Firms: An Inevitable Response to Globalization or an Infeasible Ethical Morass?", ABA International Law Section Mid-Year Meeting, 2008
• ABA Firm Counsel Project Roundtable, "CH- CH- CH- CH- Changing Firms", Lateral Hires and Lateral Hiring Issues, 2008
• "Ethics Application in the Legal Environment", ARMA International, October 4, 2007 - October 5, 2007
• "'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?' Advance Waivers, Hot Potatoes, Predatory Terms and Other Engagement Letter Issues in Today's Corporate Family Context", Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, 2007
• ABA Firm Counsel Project Roundtable, "Should They Stay or Should They Go?", Law Firm Document Retention Policies in Light of the New E-Discovery Rules, 2007
• ABA Firm Counsel Project Roundtable, "E Unum Pluribus?", Corporate Family Conflicts and Advance Conflict Waivers, 2007
• ABA Firm Counsel Project Roundtable, "'This is Privileged, Right?' - The Scope of the Privilege for Internal Firm Communications", 2006
• Avoiding Pitfalls and Minimizing Risk: The Ethics of Negotiation, DC Bar Law Practice Management Section, 2006
• "Truth and Consequences - The Ethics of Negotiation", Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, 2006
• "Ethical Crises Facing Young Lawyers", Bar Association of D.C., 2005
• "Predicting the Future and Other Mysteries: Dealing with Advance Conflict Waivers", Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, Salt Lake City, 2005

Pro Bono Activities

• President, Federation of Citizens Associations of the District of Columbia, 2005 - 2008
• Vice Chair and Trustee, Committee of 100 on the Federal City
• President, Forest Hills Citizens Association, 2002 - Present
• District of Columbia Zoning Review Task Force, 2007 - Present

West Practice Categories

Professional Malpractice Law