Interesting former client case. Firm's engagement letter says client is "OSA Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Avocent Corporation, and its affiliates," and so, said the court, the firm had represented OSA "and its affiliates" including the movant in a disqualification proceeding, which was an affiliate of Avocent. Avocent v. Redmond Corp., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39736 (W.D. Wash. 2007). Methinks the engagement letter needed some tweaking! This is the second case like this this year where corporate familiy issues have DQ'd firms when, I'm guessing from the way things look from here, it shouldn't have happened.
The court then found a substantial relationship in part because the firm's expert didn't know IP law and so couldn't comment on whether there was a substantial relationship.