Also known as: reciprocal · reciprocities · mutuality · quid pro quo
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Mutual or bilateral action or exchange of benefits, privileges, or obligations between parties.
Rosalind Reed and Rosa Ruiz, two solo practitioners, sign a written agreement to refer clients to each other for specialized matters. The agreement expressly permits each lawyer to refer clients to other attorneys as well. When a client asks whether the arrangement limits choices, Reed confirms that the referral relationship remains open to additional participants.
Riverfront Developments sells the first twenty lots in a planned residential community subject to height and use restrictions recorded in each deed. After selling the remaining lots without repeating the restrictions, the developer attempts to build a commercial structure on its retained parcel. Owners of the restricted lots sue, claiming the restrictions apply to the developer's remaining land to preserve the general plan.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Judge Rita Russell attends a private dinner hosted by a recently convicted racketeer and attended by several individuals known for organized-crime ties. The judicial conduct commission investigates even though no case involving the host is pending before Russell. The commission finds the appearance of impropriety sufficient to warrant discipline.
Ryan Roberts, licensed in State A, seeks admission to the bar of State B without examination. State B requires residency for all applicants and refuses to recognize Roberts's license because State A imposes no residency requirement on its own licensees. Roberts challenges the denial under the Privileges and Immunities Clause.
Rina Rahman sues Reliance Insurance after a federal court already found the insurer knowingly misrepresented policy terms in an SEC enforcement action. Rahman moves for partial summary judgment on the knowledge element. The court grants the motion, holding that the prior determination binds the insurer in the private suit.
Ralph Richardson, injured by a defective product, seeks to prevent Rocky Mountain Mining from relitigating a validity issue already decided against the company in an earlier patent suit brought by a different plaintiff. The court applies the prior judgment after confirming the company had a full opportunity and strong incentive to litigate the issue in the first action.
The agreement must not be exclusive, the client must be informed of its existence and nature, and it must otherwise comply with the rules on lawyer advertising and fee sharing.
When a conveyance imposes servitudes to implement a general plan, an implied reciprocal servitude burdens the developer's remaining land if injustice can be avoided only by implying the servitude.
Yes, such associations can violate the appearance-of-impropriety standard and warrant discipline even without proof of actual bias or quid pro quo.
No, absent substantial justification, states may not impose discriminatory residency requirements that infringe nonresidents' right to practice law under the Privileges and Immunities Clause.
…pp. 244-246 (2d ed. 1995). See also Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore , 439 U. S. 322, 335-337 (1979) (issue preclusion absent mutuality of parties does not violate Seventh Amendment, although common law as it existed in 1791 permitted issue preclusion only when there was mutuality). [^maj-21]: The two-trial rule posited by…