Armstrong v. McAlpin
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
625 F.2d 433 (1980)
A lawyer who had generally supervised SEC cases, including one against McAlpin (defendant), later joined the firm representing court-appointed receiver Armstrong (plaintiff), but the firm sequestered him from any involvement in that specific representation; McAlpin moved to disqualify the entire firm despite no evidence the sequestered lawyer had used any SEC-derived information to Armstrong's advantage, and the district court denied disqualification before a panel reversed and Armstrong sought en banc review.
Whether the mere appearance of impropriety justifies disqualifying a law firm from continuing representation when the court has determined that continuing representation will not compromise the soundness of judicial proceedings.