United States v. Gopman

Seymour A. Gopman (defendant) represented labor unions in a federal grand jury investigation for possible violations of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). The LMRDA was enacted to protect union members from impropriety by union officials. The grand jury was investigating allegations of certain union officials’ embezzlement, failure to maintain proper records, and destruction of records. The grand jury subpoenaed three union officials, who were not the target of the investigation, for questioning. The officials consulted Gopman, the union attorney, and Gopman believed he could represent the officials because they were not the target of the investigation. Gopman advised the officials to assert their Fifth Amendment right and refuse to answer questions after discovering that the officials could be subject to criminal penalties if they had improperly maintained their records. The government (plaintiff) filed a motion to disqualify Gopman, arguing that his dual representation of the union and the officials created a conflict of interest, because complete disclosure by the officials was in the union’s best interest. The district court disqualified Gopman as attorney for the officials. Gopman appealed, arguing that the government lacked standing to challenge the representation and that the district court lacked standing to hear the motion.