Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest is a situation in which someone who is in a position of trust, such as a lawyer or politician, has a competing professional or personal interest or interests. Such competing interests can interfere with the individual’s ability to perform his duties impartially. Even with the absence of wrongdoing, a conflict of interest can give an appearance of impropriety that can undermine the public’s confidence in that person’s ability to behave properly in his or her position.
In the legal world, loyalty ethics prohibit lawyers and/or law firms from representing a party whose interests are adverse from those of a current client. The few exceptions to this rule require a written and signed informed consent from all affected clients and attorneys. In some instances, the waiver of the conflict of interest cannot be waived by the client. A common example is that most lawyers or law firms will not represent both parties involved in a divorce case, especially if the divorce is a nasty one. However, most attorneys and their firms can still mediate between parties, so long as there aren’t any irresolvable issues.
An undisclosed representation involving a conflict of interest can subject a lawyer to the possibility of disciplinary actions against him or her, the denial or disgorge of legal fees, or, in some cases, even criminal prosecution. In the United States, possible conflicting clients of an attorney are deemed possible conflicting clients for every attorney who is employed in any office that is associated with that attorney. Many law firms incorporate software within their firms that has the ability to help manage and monitor possible conflicts of interest within the firm and obtain waivers whenever necessary.