In IBM v. Levin (1978) 579 F.2d 271, a case applying federal law, the court affirmed an order disqualifying a law firm (CBM) from representing the plaintiffs in an antitrust case filed against IBM. In concluding the lower court did not abuse its discretion, the IBM court found, among other things, that the lower court's ruling was supported by several factual findings including that "at all relevant times CBM had an on-going attorney-client relationship with both IBM and the plaintiffs." (IBM, supra, 579 F.2d at p. 281.) Characterizing this finding as "entirely reasonable," the court noted that "although CBM had no specific assignment from IBM on hand on the day the antirust complaint was filed and even though CBM performed services for IBM on a fee for service basis rather than pursuant to a retainer arrangement, the pattern of repeated retainers, both before and after the filing of the complaint, supports the finding of a continuous relationship." (Ibid.)