After months of dominating the legal press, the recent prominence given to lawyers’ conflicts of interest finally looks as though it is receding after the publication of the Law Society’s new rules. The release of these rules was fast-tracked after a very public debate on conflicts, in particular following the high-profile ruling during the Marks & Spencer bid against Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Some might argue that this debate has done little to foster the image of The Law Society as it faces perhaps its greatest challenge, the Clementi Review, later this year.
On the other hand, the Bar Council, which is also subject to the same review, has so far managed to keep a low profile throughout the conflicts of interest discussion, and its pre-existing rules governing this issue remain unchanged. How, one may ask, was this possible?
