"x x x.
Our rules of professional conduct dictate that we hold certain information in confidence. We hold that confidence to the exclusion of all others, and can even resist a subpoena to protect our clients’ secrets. Similarly, we take an oath to zealously advocate for our clients. In an ideal world, these two responsibilities would never run afoul of each other.
But they do. And when they do, lawyers could lose clients, money, their job, or even their license.
To prevent these problems all lawyers know they are supposed to do a “conflicts check.” But that’s all they teach you in law school: you have to check for conflicts. Eric Cooperstein, a Lawyerist contributor and ethics-defense attorney, explains the purpose of a conflict check:
Um . . . to make sure there’s not a conflict? Even in very small or solo firms, lawyers should not rely on their memories to determine whether they have a conflict. Detecting a conflict after the representation has started may harm the client and the lawyer.
Minnesota Lawyers Mutual’s vice president of risk management, Todd Scott, writing in the ABA GP Solo’s Law Trends & News newsletter, puts it another way: The purpose of a conflicts check is to ensure that your commitment to your client’s matter will not be distracted by your commitment to any other person.
x x x."
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