Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I am a litigation partner in a firm. My daughter and niece graduated from law school together, and they have now gone to work for separate local litigation boutiques. A large multi-party case was recently filed against a number of defendants, including one of my firm’s clients. Most local law firms have become involved. In a quirk of coincidence, my daughter, my niece and I have each entered appearances for defendants, which have cross-claimed against each other. Do I have a conflict appearing as counsel in the action in which my daughter and niece are on opposing legal teams if they are not the lead? Does this situation result in Rule 1.10(a) imputed disqualification of any of the firms?
A: This tangle of circumstances implicates personal interest conflicts under Model Rule 1.7, with clients who are adverse being represented by lawyers with family relationships. Relationships can create a “material limitation” conflict under Rule 1.7(a)(2) if representation of a client would be affected or limited (e.g., would you file a motion for sanctions against your daughter, if otherwise appropriate?). Comment 11 to Rule 1.7 states that clients are entitled to know of the relationships and their implications (which could include potential confidentiality, loyalty and independent professional judgment issues): “Thus, a lawyer related to another lawyer, e.g., as parent, child, sibling or spouse, ordinarily may not represent a client in a matter where that lawyer is representing another party, unless each client gives informed consent.”
Here, the parent-child relationship would almost certainly fall within this prohibition, while the cousin-cousin and aunt-niece relationship are less clear as triggers. It could perhaps be argued whether the non-lead team member roles of the two recent graduates sufficiently reduce the conflict considerations, but best practice suggests that all three lawyers inform their clients and obtain consent to remain in the case (particularly given what appear to be close relationships). See, e.g., ABA Formal Ethics Op. 494 (2020) (close relationships other than family can give rise to personal interest conflicts). If any client does not consent, while the lawyer may be disqualified, their firm is likely not to be. Rule 1.10(a)(1) (personal interest conflict does not work imputed disqualification of firm in the absence of a material limitation affecting the other lawyers of the firm).