Ethics and Conflicts with Clients, Part 2

Despite best efforts, lawyers may develop ethical conflicts with their clients.  Sometimes these conflicts may initially seem like positive developments. The lawyer may seek to buy into a client’s business enterprise or participate in a transaction, be offered a gift by a client, or even develop a romantic relationship with a client.  But these and many others come with substantial ethical issues.  Sometimes these conflicts may be more immediately problematic, as when a lawyer leaves a law firm and wants to take his or her clients to the new firm, or when a client refuses to pay legal fees, or worse, as when the lawyer has a duty to disclose certain acts of his or her own malpractice.  This program will provide you with a real world guide to lawyer conflicts with their clients and how to avoid or resolve them.

Schedule:

• Dishonest clients – what must you do?
• Lawyers as witnesses – how do you handle the conflict and privilege issues?
• Clients with diminished capacity – from whom do you take instructions?  What are the other issues?
• Settlements – what if a client’s tactics are improper?
• Malpractice – do you have a duty to disclose?