Deck 4: Conflicts of Interestthe Duty of Loyalty

Question 1

Bill and Jan want to document a small transaction. Bill is going to sell and Jan is going to buy Bill's coffee shop. Bill and Jan go to the Law Offices of Larry Lawyer to draw up this contract. Larry should:

A) not agree to draft a contract for both parties because there is a conflict of interest.
B) agree to draft the contract but take great care to make it fair between the two parties.
C) agree to draft the contract because, after all, Bill and Jan are adults and business people and they are able to judge for themselves if they need separate lawyers.
D) not agree to draft a contract for both parties unless both pay him an equal amount. The payment solves any conflict problem.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Denny Driver has an insurance policy for his car that is like everyone else's insurance policy. It provides that if he is sued as a result of a car accident, the insurance company will provide a lawyer for his defense. Although common, this policy

A) does not create a conflict because the lawyer's loyalty is to Denny (the client) regardless of the fact that the insurance company is paying for the representation.
B) does not create a conflict because Denny can choose a lawyer and the insurance company will pay for it.
C) creates a conflict of interest because the interests of the insurance company are inherently different from the interests of the insured.
D) creates a conflict of interest only if Denny doesn't like the appointed lawyer.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Paralegal Denny has worked for law firm Johnson & Smith for 5 years in their real estate department. When he leaves J&S to take a job in the litigation department of Beck & Hein, Denny

A) should discuss his new job and possible conflicts with his J&S employers to ensure there is no allegation of release of confidential information sometime in the future.
B) does not have to worry about conflicts of interest because Beck & Hein does not have a real estate department.
C) should discuss his old job and possible conflicts to get a waiver from his new employers at Beck & Hein.
D) does not have to worry about conflicts of interest because he did not do any litigation at J&S.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Jody and Sam have agreed to end their marriage amicably. They have worked out all of the details of who will get what assets and how their money will be divided. In order to save money, they want to hire one lawyer to write up their agreement. Larry Lawyer

A) can take this representation so long as both parties sign a waiver of the conflict.
B) should not take this representation because, even if Jody and Sam have agreed to all of the details of their agreement, there is a conflict of interest between the two people.
C) is obligated to take the representation because lawyers have a duty to take cases regardless of how they feel about the clients.
D) can take this representation so long as both parties pay him an equal amount.

Question 5

While at Scott & French, Paralegal Nancy worked as part of the litigation team representing the plaintiff in Big Corp. vs. Little Corp. When Nancy leaves Scott & French to accept a job with William & Marks, she learns that her new employer is contemplating representing Big Corp. in a merger with Medium Corp. Nancy

A) probably has a conflict of interest if William & Marks takes on the representation AND if the firm assigns Nancy to that matter.
B) probably has a conflict of interest due to her representation of Big Corp. while at Scott & French.
C) probably does not have a conflict of interest because the new representation does not appear to be materially adverse to the former representation.
D) probably does not have a conflict of interest because the new matter is not litigation.

Question 6

Paralegal Patty has been working in the corporate department of the law firm of Tan & Lee for several years. Her job includes attending board meetings for some of the corporations, writing corporate minutes, and keeping the corporate minute books up to date. Over the years, she has come to know many of the corporate officers very well. When one of these officers asks Patty to change some of the facts in one set of corporate minutes, Patty should

A) go ahead and make the change because the corporate officer is the client and has the authority to make the change.
B) get permission from the President of the Board because the president is the "real client."
C) make the change because the corporate officer is the "real client"
D) not make the change without a vote from the entire Board because the corporation is the client.

Question 7

While at the district attorney's office, Paralegal Fritz worked on the prosecution of thousands of cases. Fritz feels trapped in that job. Even though he would like to move into the defense side for a law firm where he could find higher salaries, he's staying put because he knows that he would raise conflict issues at all of the local firms. As Fritz's friend, you

A) advise him to take his case list with him to interviews so he can discuss what he knows about various cases and determine potential conflicts during his interviews.
B) advise him to stay put at the D.A.'s office because the conflict problem cannot be solved and the benefits are better where he is anyway.
C) advise him to talk to some larger firms and discuss building ethical walls for cases that potentially create conflicts.
D) advise him to take a job wherever he pleases because conflict of interest rules do not apply to paralegals.

Question 8

Paralegal Cheri worked on the defense of Client Joe Thames. As part of that matter, Cheri worked on restructuring Joe's finances, creating trust funds for his children, and moving some of his money to off-shore accounts. When Cheri moved to the Gnew Law Firm, she participated in Gnew's standard conflict check and discovered no potential conflicts. Some months later, Gnew took on a new collection matter from Bank of West Virginia: Bank v. Joe Thames. Cheri has not been assigned to the case and, in fact, doesn't even work on the same floor as the collection team at Gnew. What is Cheri's obligation?

A) Cheri can but does not have to say anything about the conflict so long as she does not divulge any confidential information about Joe.
B) Cheri should quit her job at Gnew before the whole firm is disqualified from the case.
C) Cheri must bring this information to her supervising lawyer even though she is not working on the case because the law assumes that she will divulge confidential information that is adverse to her former client.
D) Cheri should not say anything about the conflict because she was not assigned to the case.

Question 9

Paralegal Timothy works for a sole practitioner whose primary practice is wills and trusts. As a result, Timothy spends a great deal of his time with elderly people. Timothy is a sweet and helpful boy. He runs errands for many clients, and helps them in many other ways. As a result, more than one client has offered to leave Timothy money in his/her will. Timothy

A) should never encourage or permit this practice because gifts from clients create conflicts of interest.
B) can accept any gift that is less than $1000.
C) can accept small gifts from clients.
D) can accept any gift from a client.

Question 10

After working on the defense side of asbestos litigation for many years, Paralegal Kawika decides he wants to work for a small firm and branch out away from asbestos into real estate or family law. Kawika sends out some resumes and gets a call from a law firm that does primarily real estate and family law but does represent some asbestos plaintiffs. Kawika should

A) interview with this firm but bring a list of his current clients with him so they can check for conflicts.
B) interview with this firm and accept an offer from them only after getting a written waiver of the conflict from his current employer
C) not bother to interview with this firm because the conflict of interest is obvious and no asbestos plaintiffs lawyer would hire him.
D) interview with this firm and accept an offer from them only after getting a written waiver of any potential conflicts from the new employer