Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I am a mid-level partner in a law firm. I have struggled to develop business until recently when I received a call from a law school classmate who recently became head of litigation at a major family-owned private company. They have lots of litigation, and even more money to pay for it. In many ways it is a dream come true for my career. But this company stands for some things that I think are simply awful. They are very political in an open way and have views I find distasteful. They use their big war chest of money to influence public policy in a way that I find repugnant. In our meetings they say terrible things about people I respect. I have to hold my tongue not to openly disagree with them. And now, my name will forever be associated with them. I am trying my best to do their legal work well, but I am struggling. Do I have ethical issues arising out of this situation?

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I am a banking lawyer who frequently handles acquisitions of banks or branches of banks. Recently, a family-owned bank group in our region has quietly let it be known that it would entertain offers to sell. One of our clients, let’s call them Bank A, contacted me a few days ago to assist them in preparing the legal documents for a bid to purchase it involving a combination of cash and stock. Today another prospective client, Bank B, has contacted one of my partners to assist them in preparing a bid.

I seem to recall from one of your prior columns that this could be a conflict. If so, can’t we just get waivers from both bank groups to allow us to use separate teams of lawyers to assist each bid, each walled off from the other? We won’t be advising on the amount of either bid; our role in each will simply be to prepare a legal offering package, and if successful (in which case, we’d only be representing one of them), the acquisition documents.

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I represented a company let’s call Acme Rocket Cycle Co. while at a firm let’s call Wolf, Wolf and Coyote. I left the firm and took client Acme with me. Only I did any work for Acme while at the firm. May my old firm now represent their client Roadrunner, adverse to Acme, in a new matter that is not related to any matter I handled while at Wolf, Wolf and Coyote?

Q: Dear Ethics Lawyer, I am an associate general counsel in a corporate law department for Company A. Previously, I was a partner at a law firm in its corporate transactions practice group, advising and representing a number of clients, including one I will call Company B, about business contracts and sales and acquisitions of business units. Today, at one of our law department meetings, I learned that Company B is threatening to sue Company A, alleging that it has breached a contract that I drafted and negotiated for Company B a year before I went in-house. Is this a conflict issue for me? If so, is it an issue if someone else in the law department handles the matter?