The ethical issues that are most fundamental to many attorneys in their practices involve conflicts of interest. However, conflicts of interest and waivers still plague many attorneys and continue to be a source of ethical and malpractice liability. Penalties for conflict of interest violations are severe and range from disqualification to disgorgement of fees. And conflicts of interest have only become a greater concern as increasingly more attorneys are changing firms and the corporate “client” becomes harder to identify.
If you need to brush up on conflicts of interest join attorney Robert Kehr as he provides an overview of the main concepts of avoiding this major ethical pitfall that can have severe consequences. The main areas addressed include the source of ethical rules, ethical resources, the purpose of the Rules of Professional Conduct, the definition of a conflict of interest, the duties that a lawyer owes to the client, the basic conflicts of interest rule, specific conflicts and informed consent. Further issues addressed include the ABA Model Rules, ethics opinions, disqualification, disciplinary proceedings, fiduciary duties, standards of civil conduct, potential conflicts, actual conflicts, the four major duties that a lawyer owes to a client, Model Rule 1.7(a)(1), examples of conflicts, common examples of direct adversity, Model Rule 1.7(a)(2) & material limitation, the comments to the conflict rules, competence, full & unbiased disclosure, confidentiality, undivided loyalty, full disclosure to the client, joint representation, the importance of conflict letters and revoking consent.
Robert L. Kehr is a principal with Kehr, Schiff & Crane, LLP, in Los Angeles, where his practice includes business and real estate transactions and advice and expert testimony on legal ethics. He is a former chair and continuing member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Committee on Professional Responsibility and Ethics and the current chair of the State Bar Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct.