Article from ALM may be behind a paywall. Excerpt:
A state appeals court has vacated a $453,100 award for Jeffer, Mangels,
Butler & Mitchell in a legal malpractice case after finding that the
arbitrator failed to disclose that he once listed name partner Robert
Mangels on his resume.
The 2d District Court of Appeal found on
Tuesday that former Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Eli Chernow
should have disclosed the potential conflict, which "reasonably could
cause an objective observer to doubt his impartiality as an arbitrator."
"An objective observer reasonably could conclude that an arbitrator
listing a prominent litigator as a reference on his resume would be
reluctant to rule against the law firm in which that attorney is a
partner as a defendant in a legal malpractice action," the panel
concluded.
* * * * *
"The significance of the opinion is it gives further clarification to what the obligations are of a proposed arbitrator to disclose all facts that would give a reasonable person a doubt that the arbitrator could be impartial," he said. "In this case, Judge Chernow never advised the parties that he had utilized one of the partners at the defendant firm as a reference."