In recent months adverse comments have been made as to the way in which larger law firms deal with potential conflicts of interest. It has even been suggested that firms disregard conflicts rules, or behave in a cavalier fashion towards them. But to truly understand the situation, it is necessary to examine what the rules are designed to prevent and whether they take into account the modern realities of business.
Fundamentally, the conflict of interest regulation is designed to protect clients and maintain the professional status of lawyers. When instructing a lawyer, the client is entitled to assume a number of things: that the lawyer will maintain strict confidentiality in relation to all matters on which they have been instructed; that the lawyer will always act in the best interests of the client and not place himself in a position whereby the interests of the client are or appear to be in conflict with the interests of other clients or of the lawyer himself; and that the lawyer will disclose to the client all information of which he becomes aware which is, or may be, relevant to the interests of the client.
