The Orange County business lawyers at Daily Aljian discuss joint representation in employment cases.
Your Orange County business attorney points out that joint representation questions come up early when defending employment cases. Employment cases typically name both the employer and individual employees as parties, and the employees almost always ask the employer to pay for their defense fees.
Handling Fees
Your Orange County business lawyer notes that typically the employer will agree to pay the legal fees of the individual employees. However, your Orange County business lawyer will explain that the employer can choose to pay the employees’ legal fees as they come up or wait until there has been a determination whether the employees acted within the scope and course of employment. The risk in waiting is that the employees will be uncooperative or, in the worst case, allow a default judgment.
Agreement Scope
Normally, the employer will ask the employees to use the same attorney as the employer. For this arrangement to work, however, your Orange County business lawyer will ask the employer and employees to sign an agreement stating the terms of the joint representation. This agreement will expressly allow the lawyer to represent the employer and employees, and the employer and employees will waive any conflicts of interest created by the joint representation.
The Orange County business lawyers at Daily Aljian are experienced in handling joint representation questions. Call them at (949) 861-2524 to discuss the specifics of your case.