Exciting new series on “Voice, Body and Movement for Lawyers – How to connect with the jury and find Justice Through Dramatic Technique!”
Click here to find out moreAttorneys need to be aware of the ethical pitfalls in dealing with prospective, actual and former clients. In this important discussion for all attorneys of conflicts of interest, Steve Bennett, Park Jensen Bennett LLP, discusses the ethical issues to consider, including: Whos a client? Duties to prospective clients Direct conflicts Indirect conflicts Waivers and screening Duties to former clients Ethics authorities covered include ABA Model Rules Rule 1.7 Conflict of Interest: Current Clients); Rule 1.8 (Conflict of Interest: Current Clients); Rule 1.9 (Duties to Former Clients); Rule 1.10 (Imputation of Conflicts of Interest: General); Westinghouse Electric Corp. v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 580 F.2d 1311 (7th Cir. 1978) (the “fiduciary relationship existing between lawyer and client extends to preliminary consultation by a prospective client with a view toward retention of the lawyer, although actual employment does not result); Analytica v. NPD Research, Inc., 708 F.2d 1263 (7th Cir. 1983) (a substantial relationship exists if a "lawyer could have obtained confidential information in the first representation that would have been relevant in the second." The court said that it is irrelevant whether the lawyer actually obtained such information.)
