In the ruling this month detailing the disqualification efforts on both sides, Justice O. Peter Sherwood of the New York State Supreme Court sided with Mr. Rose, noting<br />that his Kasowitz lawyers had “been privy to Rose’s personal and financial information, including information about Georgetown and the fees at issue in this litigation.”<br />The Kasowitz firm had argued that there was no disqualifying conflict<br />because the matrimonial group had “effectively operated behind an ethical wall so no other attorneys are privy to their matters,” according to the ruling.<br />Breakaway Lawyers From Kasowitz Firm Point to Conflicts Dispute -<br />By ELIZABETH OLSONMARCH 21, 2017<br />A group of lawyers known for celebrity divorces surprised the legal industry last spring when they announced they would leave<br />the New York law firm led by Marc E. Kasowitz, a longtime lawyer for President Trump, after two decades at the firm.<br />The position of the Kasowitz firm, according to legal documents, was<br />that there was no conflict between representing Mr. Rose’s personal dealings and representing his adversary in the legal dispute over a fee for development rights for a property in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.<br />They point to a ruling this month that disqualified the firm, Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman, from representing an opponent of the Georgetown Company in a $35 million real estate dispute<br />because the law firm already represented one of Georgetown’s principals, Joseph B.<br />Mr. Kasowitz is best known as a lawyer for Mr. Trump, representing him in such matters as a 2006<br />lawsuit challenging published assertions that Mr. Trump was not a billionaire as he claimed.
