History

• The American Bar Association (ABA) has promulgated conflict-of-interest guidelines since 1908 with its original Canons of Professional Ethics, continuing with its 1969 Model Code of Professional Responsibility, through the current Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Each state has its own rules, most of which are based on the ABA Model Rules.
  
  

Significance

• A conflict of interest could prevent an attorney from representing a client to the best of the attorney's ability. The resulting harm done to a client's legal matter may be financial, such as settling a lawsuit for an amount that is either too high or too low, or a client's liberty or life if the conflict arises in the course of representation in a criminal matter.
  
  

Types

• The three types of conflicts of interest addressed by the Model Rules of Professional Conduct are: General, including loyalty to clients and conflicts in litigation; prohibited transactions, including business transactions and sexual relations with clients; and conflicts affecting former clients, including breaches of confidentiality and adverse positions created when an attorney changes firms.
  
  

Considerations

• A prospective client should not take it personally when an attorney declines representation due to a real, potential or perceived conflict of interest. The attorney is required to do so by the rules of professional conduct.
  
  

Expert Insight

• State Bar of Michigan Director of Professional Standards Dawn M. Evans authored "How to Identify and Avoid Conflicts of Interest."