I’m a forthcoming new associate at a biglaw (corporate work only), and my student note is forthcoming in a journal. The note advocates for a position that is generally more favorable to plaintiffs. It specifically discusses Case A (where Plaintiff won, and I agree with the court) and Case B (Defendant won, and my note advocates for the opposite position).
I only discovered after submitting the note for publication that my firm represents the defendant in Case B. Case B has been remanded by the court of appeals (I was right in my note, unfortunately), so the case is still ongoing.
I’m not a SA at the firm, so I genuinely had no reason to anticipate this when I wrote the note or signed the publication agreement as a 2L.
I understand there may be conflicts/ethics issues here, but the practical problem is that I can’t publish under a pseudonym. Even if I remove the discussion of Case B entirely, the broader thesis of the note still advocates for a position that is directly adverse to one of my firm’s clients.
I might have to raise this with the firm, but I don't know where/how I should start. How can I approach the firm/conflicts team about this without unnecessarily escalating the issue? I am slightly panicking over this right now (because the conflict is soooo direct), so every comment will be appreciated. Thanks!
(I know ppl don't take student note seriously and my note will not have any practical impact, but I am just feeling very embarrased bc 1/3 of the note was basically explaining why the position my firm was advocating for is wrong. I don't want to embarrass the firm either, just in case someone finds it (it's a very specific, niche topic, searchable, maybe), although I know the possibility is very low.)