Professional Responsibility: Client Conflicts of Interest

In this episode Dean Jill Gross, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs explains one of the most tested subjects of Professional Responsibility,  how to identify attorney-client conflicts of interest.  Dean Gross highlights what she defines as the three different types of conflicts of interest and then offers an excellent analytical tool for determining when potential conflicts exist and evaluating the severity of the conflict.Some key takeaways are(1)    Client conflict can be divided into three categoriesa. Those that do not rise to the level of conflict for ethical purposes b. Those that are serious enough that a lawyer must take some action but are waivable such that an attorney can continue representation and, c. Those that are so serious that they cannot be waived; under no circumstance can a lawyer represent both clients. (2)    Length of time between representations also plays a factor in determining conflicts of interest(3)    Read the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and your stats rules on professional responsibility to assure success on any professional responsibility exam.About our guest…Professor Jill I. Gross is a nationally known expert in the field of securities dispute resolution and teaches courses in the areas of dispute resolution, ethics, securities law, and lawyering skills. She was the James D. Hopkins Professor of Law, a two-year rotating endowed Chair, from 2013-2015, Director of the Investor Rights Clinic from 1999-2015, and Director of Legal Skills Programs from 2010-2015. She also has taught at Cornell Law School, UNLV’s Boyd School of Law and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.Want to learn more about Dean Gross?  Visit https://law.pace.edu/faculty/jill-grossAs always, if you have any suggestions for an episode topic, please let us know! You can email us at leslie@lawtofact.com or tweet to @lawtofact. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@lawtofact) and to like us on FaceBook! And finally, your ratings and reviews matter! Please leave us a review on iTunes.Want to stay updated on all things Law to Fact? Join our mailing list by visiting us at www.lawtofact.com.