Beck

The question presented by this case is whether one cocounsel may sue another for breach of fiduciary duty on the theory that the latter’s malpractice in handling their mutual client’s case reduced or eliminated the fees the former expected to realize from the case. There is a split of authority on this question. Pollack v. Lytle (1981) 120 Cal.App.3d 931 [ 175 Cal.Rptr. 81 ] (Pollack) recognized such a fiduciary duty, but Joseph A. Saunders, P.C. v. Weissburg & Aronson (1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 869 [ 87 Cal.Rptr.2d 405 ] (Saunders) rejected it as potentially inconsistent with counsel’s overriding duty to the client. Like the Court of Appeal in the present case, we agree with Saunders that it would be contrary to public policy to countenance actions based on the theory that cocounsel have a fiduciary duty to protect one another’s prospective interests in a contingency fee.

I. Factual And Procedural Background

In 1992 Michael and Robert Stephens hired Attorney Daniel Beck to represent them in a lawsuit against General Motors, to recover for serious injuries the Stephenses sustained when the pickup truck they were riding in rolled over and burst into flames. With the…