Parker v. K&L Gates
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
76 A.3d 859 (2013)
- Written by Alexander Hager-DeMyer, JD
Facts
Robert Parker (plaintiff) was a partner at Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP, which merged with another firm to form K&L Gates, LLP (K&L) (defendant). All former partners of the combining firms who wanted to become partners at K&L were required to sign a supplement to the firm’s partnership agreement. Parker signed the supplement, which stated that new partners agreed to be bound by K&L’s partnership agreement as amended. One of the amendments to the partnership agreement, made prior to Parker’s signing, contained an arbitration clause and a forum-selection clause, stating that arbitration would occur in Washington, D.C. for all disputes arising under the agreement. A dispute arose between K&L and Parker. Parker quit and filed suit in California state court. Parker and many of the potential witnesses for the lawsuit lived in California at the time of filing. K&L filed a motion in D.C. superior court to compel arbitration, which the superior court granted. Parker appealed to the D.C. appellate court. Among other matters, Parker claimed that the forum-selection provision was invalid and unenforceable.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McLeese, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 820,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 989 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
