Story at Law Firm Risk Management Blog.
In California, we've had several cases suggesting that ethical walls prevent imputation of lateral conflicts for non-lawyers. Here's an excerpt from Bill Freivogel's indispensible site, Freivogel on Conflicts with such cases:
Atmel Corp. v. Information Storage Devices, Inc., 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4241 (N.D. Cal. 1998); Wallis v. PHL Associates, Inc., 2006 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1739 (Cal. App. Feb. 28, 2006); In Re Complex Asbestos Litigation, 283 Cal. Rptr. 732 (Cal. App.1991); Gregori v. Bank of America, 254 Cal. Rptr. 853 (Cal. App. 1989). Cal. Op. 1992-126 (1992) seems to suggest that screening will work for temporary lawyers who move from firm-to-firm. Thomas v. Howard, 2006 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 11287 (Cal. App. Dec. 15, 2006), did not follow In Re Complex Asbestos Litigation, because paralegal had passed the bar exam (but, not yet admitted).