Did Assemblyman Van Tran, in only one sentence, just cause a conflict of interest that forever bars the mighty law firm of Snell & Wilmer from conducting any business before the City of Westminster?
The Bolsavik knows very little of how the public law business works, but some of the things that just happened raised the issue.
Assemblyman Van Tran is a lawyer, yes, but he’s not a free-floating, unattached lawyer the way he was when he had his solo office on Bolsa. He’s now affiliated with a law firm, being of-counsel to the 400-attorney-strong Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.
Now, the rule is, in a law firm, a conflict of interest by one lawyer affects all their lawyers.
Most large law firms have a database and full-time people dedicated just to make sure the numerous relationships by their hundreds of lawyers don’t conflict with the firm’s work.
Now, Van Tran just went out of his way to identify himself, several times and on recorded audio tape, to law enforcement officers, that he’s the lawyer to Westminster City Councilman Andy Quach (read here; source here). That probably makes Quach his client.
As a matter of law, that would make Andy Quach a client of the entire firm of Snell & Wilmer.
Does that mean that as long as Quach sits on the Westminster City Council, Snell & Wilmer (and its hundreds of lawyers) is barred from conducting any business for, and/or before, and/or against, the city?
Does it mean Snell & Wilmer can’t represent the city?
Does it mean Snell & Wilmer can’t represent any of its thousands of clients with businesses before the city?
Does it mean that Snell & Wilmer can never represent any clients, even the numerous developers who are its current clients, who want to sue the city?
And if Snell is currently representing anyone suing or doing business with Westminster, does it mean the firm has to conflict out and renounce that business?
The Bolsavik doesn’t know any of the answers. Just asking the questions. Maybe someone who knows can answer.
The silver lining is, even if there’s a conflict, it probably won’t last past the 2010 elections.
One thing the Bolsavik is pretty sure of, is that Mr. Tran almost certainly violated whatever internal rules Snell & Wilmer has about its lawyers going around claiming to represent clients without first clearing with the firm’s conflict department. But that’s Snell’s business.
he might have said he was quach’s lawyer because he was drunk himself?
The Honorable Assemblyman Van Tran’s primary duty is to represent “The People”. When the Honorable Van Tran represents a defendant X in a case of “The People vs Defendant X”, it definitely raises questions on ethics which is subject to being disbarred.
Bolsavik,
Mr.Tran said he is Mr. Quach’s attorney in order to access his client and stop Mr. Quach from incriminating himself. Having said that, an attorney/client relationship must be mutual. Tran might have said that “I’m Mr. Quach’s attorney but that doesn’t mean Mr. Quach is obligated to accept.” Since Mr. Tran went to bat for Mr. Quach, I think reciprocity is called to order here and Mr. Quach will fully disavowed Mr. Tran as his attorney.
God Damn Lawyer language…I can only say this:
1. By saying ‘I’m Andy Quach lawyer” repeteadly, Van Tran has purposely using his status as LAWYER to interfere with police procedure.
2. Van Tran has fail to use his claim as Andy Quach’s lawyer to do anything positive for Andy Quach in the court of law, in the contrary he put himself in hot seat, what kind of attorney is he? who will want to hire him in the future, albeit, he may not be in public servant duty soon.(luckily the good officer, did not get intimidated by his status)
3. Taking back his claim as a LAWYER is too late, Andy Quach has called Van Tran to the crash site with the clear intention to use Van Tran status of an attorney to help him out of the mess. No Luck!
4. Fortunately, the good officer, did not get intimidated by his status as an assembly man and a lawyer.
5. Most of the politicians are lawyers anyway, scum of the earth, parasite of the society, we could live better without half of them f$king around.
This is a bunch of spoiled brain law student wannabe anti viet fantacizers.
Stemming from one’s unfortunate auto accident these jealous anti viet idiots are dancing with 5 yr old’s undies. What a lunatic Loretta Sanchez lovers……. she has been already taken by her body guard.
Bo, the scum of the earth paracites are telling you what to do every single day because you are viewed as lower than a scum. It’s hard to blame them…..when I am reading your sad posts.
Kim:
What did I say to earn a wrath of personal hatred from you?
never heard of loretta or her bodyguard getting wasted and bouncing off light posts eh?
jose, I am sure there was no bouncing off ..but getting wasted yes! and perhaps collision? yes! just the friendly one…causing a deep dent in Loretta’s body. Got it idiot licka jose’s butt?
Bo, you sound bit too over excited on one’s misfortune….. where is love my friend? What if Andy was your close family member?
Mocking is funny …..at times but at this time we need to be kind and hope for Andy’s fast recovery from his mistake/accident.
This is the only right thing to do as a community.
I don’t know when this happened, but Van Tran hasn’t been associated with Snell & Wilmer for some time. Check their website.
and her having sex puts drivers and the community at what risk? face it jung kim, your boy did a really stupid thing and theres no excuse for putting other peoples lives in danger. he’s a loser and so are you.
Yes, specially when she is infected with naugty disease….some of these deadly diseases can spread fast to a large population .
Former assistant attorney general Dinh Dong Phung Viet is an expert in the matter of conflict of interest. He is currently employed by the Georgetown University.
jose s., and you are a winner because you are a beaner? Whatever makes your boat rock!
well jung kim as long as you dont put your tiny little jibber into her you dont have to worry now do you? but that still doesnt explain why andy the communist filth quach is such a stupid drunk does it? somebody on this blog mentioned making him pick up litter on bolsa ave and after he gets out of jail i think that would be a fitting punishment for him.
yes jung kim, being a beaner is quite nice actually now that you ask.
jose licka solorio butt, your low intelligence makes our humaity look bad.
Eat dirt and repent! Accident has happened and lucky that you got 2 hands to wipe off solorio’s butt.
solorio didnt get wasted and stupidly get behind the wheel of a car and plow into a light pole did he? haha! you poor fool admit there are no viet leaders worth a damn. i know it’s hard for you to admit it but please try. really jung kim, i’m sorry. i’m sorry when it comes to viet elected officials there arent any good ones. i know the viet community here is very young but there is hope. dont be discouraged. real leadership will come with time there are great viet leaders coming in the future i will promise you that but right now there are just communist losers. i’m sorry. i’m sorry jung kim i know this is hard for you. please dont cry. i know this dui is a hard pill to swallow. i’m sorry.
jose s., Andy had alcohol in his system to cause an accident.
What is your excuse of being stupid 24/7?
Kim;
OK then, I hope AQ will recover in morning after a night of drinking, driving carelessly and plowed into a car and a pole….I also hope he will recover after the humiliation of picking up trash on Bolsa Ave….I also want to add he will recover from being a great shock of finding himself a second class citizen.
As a good and outstanding citizen member of a viet community I herby spread my love to AQ and his lover AT.
There, are you happy now?
Bo describe it to me what is a second class citizen.
How about a first class citizen…is it you Bo?
Bo, are you into gay fantacy?
Kim boy; Loooove you tonite much love, many times…bring your turtle face AQ and VT to watch.
Bo , a gene pool reject causing malodor from discolored arm pit
Van Tran must be pissed at Andy Quach now. Van could not claim per diem for that week.
Kim;
Why such harsh words, what happens to the LOOOOOVE you preach?
Go to AQ give him your tender looove, help him out in time of need? That what a …..a..ahem…girl friend for. It is the right thing to do…
Me. No;
Van is more than pissed, he is having a heart stroke right now seeing his short political career going down in flame, what a cost of a night out drinking with a friend? (He was probably drunk too while tailing Andy prior to the crash)
Kim;
You can all keep doing this — throwing tantrum whenever some one insult your lover Quach boy, and keep playing chicken because that’s what everyone always does. A strategy of pure stupidity on all sides.
Will see who blink first?
Over and Out!
Jung Kim wrote : “What if Andy was your close family member?”
There should be no sympathy for drunk drivers. PERIOD. Regardless of who he/she is and how close he/she is to you.
Drunk drivers KILL ! SO the only right thing to do as a community is
to harshly crititize these horrendous lifestyle and the only right thing to do as a society is to throw the book at them.
well jung kim i already told you earlier i too was getting drunk that night at my friends b-day party as a matter of fact i left his party around 12:30 but the difference between me and the quach is i was responsible enough to secure a designated driver a week before the party. had i not guess what?, i dont drink period. so go ahead and ask me why i’m stupid 24/7 at least i wasnt so stupid as to get wasted and drive. quach was three times the legal limit when he plowed into that pole and almost killed those three passengers in the car he clipped. when you’re 3 times over the legal limit you are pretty drunk why didnt any of the other communists he was drinking with that night try to stop him? some friends. it was a total disregard for the safety of other drivers on the road and to me thats inexcusable. swine queen makes a good point : drunk drivers kill! people are killed everyday because idiots get drunk and get behind the wheel of a car. a good friend of mines little sister was killed by a drunk driver when he ran her down on her bike. almost 20 years later they still cant get over their loss. why? because some asshole decided to get fucked up and drive drunk just like quach did. it’s a very serious crime and shouldnt be taken lightly. theres no way he should hold public office after this he should resign. that would be the only thing that would be right at this time. but somehow i think he’s way to arrogant to think he should resign because he’s so “special” and by the way, my friend who lost his little sister to that drunk driver, the guy got a good lawyer and did 120 hours of community service. it was like the family was victimized twice. those people in that car quach clipped were lucky. it could have gone very differently.
jose s;
kudo to you. I can’t say enough about them parasite lawyers, scum of the earth, they only defend those who got money.
What about public defender? Dream on!
Andy Quach and Van Tran may get away with a slap on the wrist, but Karma spares no one. Go ask OJ.
richard b Says:
August 7th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
I don’t know when this happened, but Van Tran hasn’t been associated with Snell & Wilmer for some time. Check their website.
The link the Bolsavik gave doesn’t work anymore, but here is a copy from Google docs:
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:qSY-upbuvfsJ:www.swlaw.com/files/News/f5842ce2-8f6b-45d2-84c5-5e71245c7586/Presentation/NewsAttachment/80fc510d-806a-4521-91ed-5eed3b44d79c/OC-Van%2520Tran.pdf+site:swlaw.com/files+tran&hl=en&gl=us
http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache%3AqSY-upbuvfsJ%3Awww.swlaw.com%2Ffiles%2FNews%2Ff5842ce2-8f6b-45d2-84c5-5e71245c7586%2FPresentation%2FNewsAttachment%2F80fc510d-806a-4521-91ed-5eed3b44d79c%2FOC-Van%2520Tran.pdf+site%3Aswlaw.com%2Ffiles+tran&hl=en&gl=us
Bo May Suck, if you are into boys that’s your privacy matter…just make sure you don’t carry a pair of little balls.
Bo May Suck, no, Andy will never have you come close to him. Try a neighbor’s dog.
SwineToBeRoasted, good to know non of your family members will make mistakes….. and they will be never forgiven. Lie without your balls rolling.
Bo May:
You bare an idiot just like your master, Bolsavik.
Does “Bo May” does his mother? That’s how you canme out? Ha ha!
Me. May + Bo May = Janet Nguyen and Andrew Do, Swine Queen, Jose s. (bastard Mexican transvestite daughter).
Does anybody know if there will be a town hall meeting in the city of Westminster? Should people fear reprisal from VT and his group if people voice their desire to have AQ recalled?
The next council meeting for Westminster is August 12 at 7:00PM. Channel 3 provides live coverage. Normally you would need to be careful upsetting VT and AQ. However, this case draws a lot of attention from general public and interested parties (VT’s political opponents with cloud), so you are much safer. In addition, the FBI, political corruption division, is very interested in receiving complaints from affected parties. So go ahead, voice your concern at this meeting.
Yeah ocmonkeybusiness, have you been injured in this accident?
FBI/ Homeland Security is going to check for your anti viet illegal immigration status and ship you back home after collecting over due fines.
I will take your ugly criminal face picture ….to be used as your ID card in jail.
Jung Kim; AKA Tylor Diep Mien Truong,
Werent’ you also drinking whiskey at this very same party where your mentor Van Tran and your partner in crime Andy Quach was? YOu better watch that sharp tongue of yours!!! If you dare then just use your own ID and voice your stupid opinion!!! The people of Westminster elected 3 idiots to the council! Good for nothing!!! What are you good for Truong DiepShit? Got yourself elected so now you’re using your postition to go around town and intimidate those that don’t support you financially? Thugs like you won’t last long in this town. Didn’t we tell you Trannies that sooner or later we will get all of you out of town? We made it very clear to all of you during Ditzy Dina’s campaign for Supervisorial that we will CLEAN HOUSE. It’s only a matter of time before you go down with the rest of them TYLOR DIPSHIT. IT’S ALL CATCHING UP TO YOU NOW. This is what these local Viet electeds do on a regular basis. I see them out drinking every where. If they are not at coffee shops like Di Vang or De Thuong, for sure you will find them at QUAN NHAU (drinking establishments) around town. Especially Tylor Truong Dipshit.
BYSTANDER, when we allow them to intimidate us, this is what we get. People outside of the Viet community are laughing at us now for having thugs and drunks for representatives. When will you stand up and do something about it? If we are not successful at removing him from office now, make sure to think twice before you cast your vote in the next election. I strongly suggest all of you to advocate and keep all of them out of public office. That includes, Tylor Truong Diep, Andy Quach, Tri Ta, Dina Nguyen and Andrew Nguyen. I wonder why the city never looked into their violations of the Brown Act? The three council members (Tylor, Andy and Tri) are often seen together and often heard discussing city businesses together. I agreed with ALL EYES ON YOU, be very careful of Tylor Truong Diep. This guy has to GO!!!
All tiny eyes, some idiots are still beating around the wrong bush. .. wishing/dreaming I, the official guru of our viet town ……is a councilman from Westminster Truong Diep (is he that attractive)?.
Why don’t you call Janet ? she knows who I am.
all eyes on you, jung kim doesnt even have their number they would never associate with such a clown even though they are clowns themselves. jung kim is a nobody. he is guru of nothing.
jose licka solorio butt, you are the one of most under educated idiot in OC. Go back to your bario in SA!
All tiny eyes on shit…why don’t you go do a make up date with Truong Diep? Your hatred is not good for your mental health
Bolsavik, you bring up a good point. However, Snell would not be barred from representing a client against Westminster per se. The written consent of both Andy Quach and the City of Westminster would allow Snell to jump the conflict of interest hurdle.
If the only four players in such a situation were Tran, Quach, Snell, and Westminster, it would be reasonable to assume that consent would be granted. The reason being Tran’s association with the firm is weak at best. With that said, if Westminster’s legal team were able to accurately predict the range of firms its opponent(s) in the dispute would retain, and if Snell were the City’s biggest fear, then consent might be denied as a strategic move.
Although Tran is not listed on the firm’s website as one of its attorneys, the CA Bar says otherwise. If it is true that he is Of Counsel, then there would be sufficient nexus between Tran and Snell for the City to bring up a conflict of interest issue. What matters more – as far as the strength of the conflict of interest claim is concerned – is Tran’s scope of representation (for Quach) and its relation to the legal issue in the dispute.
With regards to the comment about “spoiled brain law student wannabe[s],” you need not look any further than a certain Hamline Law School graduate, i.e. Van Tran. My law school ranked/ranks among the Top 10 so I’ll readily admit my elitism. We throw around a fairly recent term these days called “TTT.” It’s an abbrieviation for “Third Tier Trash,” a comment on the quality (or more specifically, the lack thereof) of law schools so bad that they don’t even get a ranking. Hamline isn’t even a TTT. Hamline is a Tier Four school (http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/title+hamline)…