Common Lawyer Conflict of Interest Examples
When you hire an attorney, you place your trust in their professional judgment and expect them to advocate solely for your best interests — but situations sometimes arise when your lawyer’s personal, financial, or professional interests compete with their duty to you as their client.
These scenarios, known as conflicts of interest, represent some of the most serious violations of the attorney-client relationship and can have devastating consequences for your case, and therefore your life overall.
Whether it’s an attorney secretly representing opposing parties, having undisclosed financial stakes in your case outcome, or allowing personal relationships to compromise their professional judgment, conflicts of interest can undermine the very foundation of effective legal representation.
If you’re looking for lawyers that sue lawyers, you’re in the right place. Ross Sears has been suing lawyers in Texas for more than 30 years, holding attorneys accountable for their malpractice and helping make his clients whole. If you’ve got an issue with your lawyer, you’ve got to call Ross at Sears Crawford.
Continue reading about some of the more common lawyer conflict of interest examples that we see at Sears Crawford, or call Ross today at (713) 223-3333 for a free consultation.
Is a conflict of interest legal malpractice?
A conflict of interest can indeed constitute legal malpractice, particularly when it results in harm to the client. While not every conflict automatically rises to the level of malpractice, attorneys have a fundamental duty to avoid situations where their loyalty to one client could be compromised by obligations to another party or their own interests.
Under Texas law and legal ethics rules, attorneys owe their clients a fiduciary duty — the highest standard of care recognized in law. This duty requires complete loyalty, undivided attention, and the obligation to place the client’s interests above all others. When an attorney fails to identify, disclose, or properly manage a conflict of interest, they breach this fiduciary duty.
But what is legal malpractice, and when exactly does a conflict of interest arise to the level of legal malpractice or breach of fiduciary duty? For legal malpractice to occur through any means, a few things must be proven:
- The existence of an attorney-client relationship; and
- An attorney’s actions (or non-actions) deviating from the standard of care that a reasonable and prudent attorney would provide; and
- Causation linking the conflict to harm suffered by the client; and
- Damages resulting from the attorney’s actions or inactions.
Conflicts of interest become actionable malpractice when they directly impact the quality of representation or the outcome of the client’s case.
Why would a lawyer have a conflict of interest?
Attorneys may find themselves in conflicted situations for a number of reasons, though ethical lawyers should recognize and address these issues before they cause problems. Understanding the motivations behind conflicts can help clients identify potential red flags in their attorney’s behavior.
- Financial incentives represent one of the most common sources of conflicts. An attorney might have a personal financial interest in a business involved in the client’s case, own stock in a company that could benefit from a particular outcome, or have entered into business relationships with opposing parties. Sometimes, attorneys take on cases where they could benefit financially from a specific resolution, creating a situation where their personal gain conflicts with providing objective and selfless advice to their client.
- Professional relationships can also create conflicts. Attorneys often know each other well within legal communities, and sometimes these relationships can compromise their ability to zealously advocate for their clients. An attorney might be reluctant to aggressively pursue claims against a law firm where they hope to work in the future, or they might go easy on an opposing counsel with whom they have a close personal friendship, or several other cases against.
- Family relationships present another common source of conflicts. An attorney whose spouse works for a company being sued by the attorney’s client faces an obvious conflict between family loyalty and professional duty. Similarly, representing more than one family member in legal matters can create conflicts, especially when family dynamics interfere with professional judgment.
It’s important to note that attorneys often inadvertently create conflicts by failing to properly screen new clients against their existing client base, or by not recognizing when a new matter could adversely affect a current client’s interests — conflicts of interest aren’t always malicious or expressly for personal gain, but they’re always an issue if they go undisclosed.
What are the types of conflict of interest?
What constitutes a conflict of interest? While legal conflicts of interest always involve an attorney’s interests interfering with those of their client, there are a few ways this can happen. Conflicts of interest are typically categorized into three main types based on their nature and the level of risk they present to client representation.
|
Conflict type |
Explanation |
|
Actual conflicts of interest |
These exist when an attorney’s competing loyalties or interests directly and substantially interfere with their ability to represent a client effectively. |
|
Potential conflicts of interest |
These arise when circumstances suggest that a conflict may develop during the course of representation, even if no direct conflict currently exists. |
|
Apparent conflicts of interest |
These occur when the attorney’s situation creates the appearance of impropriety or divided loyalty, even if no actual conflict exists or will develop. |
These various types of conflicts represent some of the common types of legal malpractice that can seriously harm clients when not properly identified and managed, but they can be hard to spot if you’ve never been in a similar situation.
What is an example of a conflict of interest in law?
There are many ways in which conflicts of interest can present themselves. The following are some common examples that can help you determine whether or not your attorney had a conflict, but you’ll only be sure after contacting an experienced legal malpractice attorney in Houston to assess your case.
|
Conflict type |
Example |
|
Actual conflicts of interest |
An attorney simultaneously represents both parties in a divorce proceeding or represents multiple plaintiffs in the same lawsuit, whose interests are not aligned. |
|
Potential conflicts of interest |
An attorney represents a company in a merger while also representing individual shareholders whose interests might conflict with the company’s position as negotiations develop. |
|
Apparent conflicts of interest |
An attorney’s spouse works for the opposing party in litigation, has a social relationship with the opposing counsel that could appear to influence their advocacy, or has made public statements that seem inconsistent with representation of their current client. |
The method of remedy can change drastically based on the type of conflict of interest present in your case. When actual conflicts of interest exist, the attorney cannot possibly provide advocacy for both clients since their interests are directly opposed, and must generally be removed from the case, while potential conflicts may only require ongoing assessment.
Similarly, while apparent conflicts may not involve actual competing interests, they can be just as damaging to effective representation and may require disclosure, client consent, or withdrawal to maintain the integrity of the attorney-client relationship.
How do you prove conflicts of interest?
Proving that your attorney had a conflict of interest requires demonstrating several elements and gathering specific types of evidence. The process can be complex, which is why partnering with a skilled legal malpractice attorney who knows how to gather evidence and build a malpractice claim is essential to your success.
- Establish that a conflict actually existed. This requires showing that your attorney had competing loyalties, interests, or obligations that compromised their ability to represent you effectively.
- Gather financial records as proof of conflicts. Bank statements, investment records, or business partnership agreements can demonstrate that your attorney had financial interests adverse to your case. If your attorney owned stock in a company you were suing, or had business relationships with opposing parties, these financial connections create clear conflicts.
- Collect communication records that reveal conflicts. Emails, letters, and recorded conversations can reveal conflicts through what your attorney said or failed to disclose.
- Solicit expert testimony from legal ethics professionals. These experts can help establish that a reasonable attorney would have recognized the conflict and either declined the representation or obtained proper waivers.
- Review court records and case files for performance issues. Evidence that your attorney failed to pursue certain strategies, made unusual concessions, or provided less zealous representation than typical can support claims that the conflict compromised your case.
- Secure witness testimony about conflicted relationships. Other attorneys, clients, or individuals with knowledge of your attorney’s conflicted relationships can provide additional support for your claims.
Ready to file a conflict of interest lawsuit? Sears Crawford can help.
If you believe that your attorney committed one of these common lawyer conflict of interest examples, don’t worry, you don’t have to go through the aftermath alone. While hiring a lawyer is likely the last thing you want to do, Ross Sears made his name helping clients rectify their previous attorney’s wrongdoings in situations similar to yours.
He understands the devastating impact that conflicted representation can have on your life. He knows how to investigate potential conflicts, gather the evidence needed to prove your case, and hold negligent attorneys accountable for their actions.
Don’t let your attorney’s conflict of interest go unpunished. Call Ross Sears at Sears Crawford today at (713) 223-3333 or contact Sears Crawford online for a free consultation. WE SUE LAWYERS — and are here to help you understand your rights, evaluate your case, and fight for the compensation and justice you deserve.
More Helpful Articles by Sears Crawford:
- Four Elements of Legal Malpractice in Texas
- Texas Rules of Professional Conduct: Everything You Need to Know
- How To Sue a Lawyer for Malpractice
- How to Find a Lawyer to Sue Another Lawyer
- Suing for Breach of Fiduciary Duty: What You Need to Know