In a writ proceeding, one party petitioned for extraordinary relief after the trial court denied its motion to disqualify the law firm representing the other side. The law firm previously represented another law firm in an attorney fee dispute, and in the present case, represents an expert seeking consulting fees arising out of the same underlying litigation as the attorney fee dispute. In granting extraordinary relief, the appellate court stated: “In the limited realm of cases featuring attorneys as parties opposed to their former clients, lawyers representing the attorney party must avoid participation in substantially related matters, whereby their access to privileged information in the former action would potentially serve as an advantage in the latter. The court did not have discretion to deny the disqualification motion on this record.” (Acacia Patent Acquisition, LLC v. Sup.Ct. (Chitranjan N. Reddy) (Cal. App. Fourth Dist., Div. 3; February 27, 2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 1091, [184 Cal.Rptr.3d 583].)
