The former lawyers and employees of Galiher De­Robertis Waxman who started their own law partnership after the death of Gary O. Galiher, do not have to return the client files and the records they took with them.

But now that the Galiher law corporation has a new owner, the two law firms need to jointly inform the clients what’s happening so the clients can choose who will represent them, a state judge ruled Friday.

The ruling by Circuit Judge Bert I. Ayabe came in response to a request for an order by the Galiher estate for the return of the records. Ayabe denied the request. He did, however, order DeRobertis &Waxman LLP to return to the Galiher law corporation records that represent the late lawyer’s intellectual property or work product.

Robert Fricke, the lawyer for the estate, said Galiher kept a separate computer file of knowledge he accumulated from his more than 30 years of handling asbestos-related personal injury lawsuits that enabled him to win judgments and settlements for his clients higher than those obtained by other lawyers.

James Bickerton, who represents DeRobertis &Waxman LLP, told Ayabe some client files may include Galiher’s work product. Ayabe said he will assist DeRobertis &Waxman in complying with his order.

Galiher, 70, died last November in a helicopter crash on Molokai. His longtime friend Willis Choy is administering Galiher’s estate.

At the time of his death, Galiher was the sole shareholder of the Galiher law corporation, which operated as Galiher DeRobertis Waxman, with Richard De­Robertis and Ilana Waxman. DeRobertis and Waxman later formed DeRobertis &Waxman LLP.

Choy informed the employees of the Galiher law corporation in mid-July that the law firm was shutting down at the end of the month, after a proposed sale to a prominent Dallas-based lawyer, through Waxman, fell through. He then filed a lawsuit to block DeRobertis &Waxman LLP from taking Galiher corporation files. Five days after the filing of the lawsuit, the Galiher corporation informed its employees that the firm is not shutting down after all because Anthony Carr, a lawyer who had been employed by Galiher, had purchased the corporation’s shares.