June 24, 2025

TRP 252: [Legal] Avoiding Landmines in Lateral Partner Moves with Hilary Gerzhoy

38 minutes

In this inaugural “Legal Tuesday” edition of The Rainmaking Podcast, Scott Love introduces a new series focused specifically on legal professionals, offering expert insight for lawyers navigating complex transitions. Scott speaks with Hilary Gerzhoy, a seasoned ethics lawyer and thought leader on professional responsibility, who shares valuable guidance on avoiding ethical pitfalls during lateral partner moves. She outlines real-world examples of landmines, such as premature client contact, improper solicitation of team members, and breach of fiduciary duty—each of which can derail a move or trigger legal retaliation. The conversation covers essential considerations for departing lawyers, including how to handle sensitive communications, what firms can legally withhold, and how to protect client relationships ethically. The episode is especially timely for law firm partners considering a move, and serves as a cautionary guide to avoid becoming tomorrow’s legal headline. This Tuesday edition of the podcast delivers focused legal guidance, while Thursday episodes will continue serving broader professional services audiences.

Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/LAtWIzixoeY

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As Vice Chair of the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee and a member of the ABA’s Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee, Hilary Gerzhoy focuses her practice on legal ethics matters and white–collar defense.

Legal Ethics

Hilary represents lawyers, firms, and companies facing the

full range of legal ethics matters, including disciplinary investigations,

legal malpractice litigation, fee disputes, bar admissions, unauthorized

practice of law (UPL) inquiries, conflicts, advertising, lateral partner moves, and law firm formations and dissolutions. Hilary has represented lawyers in front of every disciplinary body at the state and federal level in D.C. and Maryland, before the Virginia State Bar, and before the USPTO’s Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED).

She is an adjunct law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center

where she teaches legal ethics, and she serves on Law360′s Legal Ethics Editorial Advisory Board. Hilary serves on the D.C. Circuit’s Advisory Committee on Admissions and Grievances, a Committee appointed by the Judges of the D.C. Circuit.

A frequent writer, Hilary has published more than forty articles on developments in legal ethics and her work has been featured in the  Chicago Tribune,  Bloomberg Law, Law360, the Washington Lawyer, and LexisNexis. She is regularly quoted as a legal ethics leader

in publications including The National Law Journal,  Law.com,  Bloomberg,

and Law360. She is a regular speaker at the D.C. Bar, the American Bar Association, and the Practising Law Institute.

White-Collar Criminal Defense

Hilary represents clients through all stages of litigation, from the initial complaint through trial and appeal in state and federal courts. Hilary represents companies and individuals in a range of white-collar criminal investigations, including by the DOJ, the FCC, and the New York and D.C. Attorneys General. Hilary has been repeatedly recognized by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and Lawdragon.

Links:

https://hwglaw.com/members/hilary-p-gerzhoy/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilary-gerzhoy/

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