A pre-recorded streaming VIDEO replay of the February 2016 webcast, Tom Spahn on Conflicts of Interest.
Topics covered include:
- The definition of "client" for conflicts purposes (including corporations, associations, estates, and others)
- The definition of "adversity" for conflicts purposes (including business adversity, adverse financial impact, discovery of clients, and positional adversity)
- The general rule governing adversity to current clients
- The complex rules governing joint representations
- The general rule governing adversity to former clients
- Determining the status of an attorney-client relationship
- The application of the "substantial relationship" standard
- The lawyer's ability to withdraw from a representation to cure a conflict (including the "hot potato" rule)
- The type of consents that can cure a conflict (including the revocability of consents and prospective consents)
- The courts' approach to disqualification motions based on conflicts of interest
Understanding conflicts-of-interest rules is crucial to your ability to take on new clients and to retain existing ones. Whether you are a solo practitioner, or an attorney in a large firm, conflicts-of-interest issues can, and do, arise in a myriad of settings, and a failure to fully comprehend the rules may lead to a loss of clients, return of fees, and possible liability or disciplinary action.
This two-hour interactive program, taught by the authority on ethics, Tom Spahn, will delve into the critical rules pertaining to conflicts of interest. By using relevant and realistic hypotheticals, supported by in-depth legal analysis, Tom will explore the basics and help you to master the ethical rules and know what to do when you find yourself in a conflicts predicament.