Reference no: EM132248026

Robert “Red” Newman, attorney-at-law, just attended a pretrial conference for a trial scheduled to begin next week. The case, Effingham v. Atwater, involves his client, Jessica Effingham. On September 8, 2009, Jessica sustained serious injuries in automobile accident when a car driven by Harvey Atwater (the defendant) struck her car from behind. Jessica sustained permanent partial disability as a result of the accident, and Red believes the case is worth $250,000 for his client’s permanent partial disability, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other compensatory/consequential damages. During the pretrial conference, Atwater’s defense counsel, Gunner Vader, offered the plaintiff $20,000 in full and final settlement of the Effingham v. Atwater litigation. Attorney Vader proclaimed that $20,000 was all of the settlement authority he had, and his client would not pay a penny more to settle the case. Judge Clarence Ginsburg strongly recommended that the plaintiff take the $20,000 settlement offer, but Red considered the “low-ball” offer to be a personal insult as well as an affront to his client, and he immediately rejected the offer. In rejecting the offer, did Robert “Red” Newman violate his professional duty as his client’s agent?