California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from County of Los Angeles v. Superior Court, 222 Cal.App.3d 647, 271 Cal.Rptr. 698 (Cal. App. 1990):
We are aware that a motion to disqualify can and does cause hardship to the client or clients of a disqualified attorney. "[U]ltimately the issue involves a conflict between a client's right to counsel of his choice and the need to maintain ethical standards of professional responsibility. 'The preservation of public trust both in the scrupulous administration of justice and in the integrity of the bar is paramount.... [The client's recognizably important right to counsel of his choice] must yield, however, to considerations of ethics which run to the very integrity of our judicial process.' [Citation.]" (Comden v. Superior Court (1978) 20 Cal.3d 906, 915, 145 Cal.Rptr. 9, 576 P.2d 971.)
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