Defending a law firm (Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.) and a former in-house general counsel, Eric J. Shames, in a sexual harrasment case brought on by Irina Alter, a paralegal who worked at the investment boutique from 2002 to 2003 is Pennsylvania-based Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young and Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler. And after the sexual harassment and discrimination charges were filed, two months later, Shames signed a joint representation letter sent to him by Patterson Belknap, stating that if a conflict arose, the firm “would no longer represent” Oppenheimer and another company officer but “could continue to represent Shames.

However, when Oppenheimer and Alter reached a settlement, Shames failed to settle and now the firms still representing him want out. According to Shames, their withdrawal raised “legitimate concerns” that he would not be able to properly defend himself. A Manhattan judge agreed. Ruling that his representation could not withdrawal a few days before trial, Justice Judith J. Gishe said that neither firm has shown that the attorney-client relationship with Shames was “irrevocably broken.”

Therefore, the trial will go on…

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