Ethics Hotline & Opinions

ETHICS DOCKET NO. 2000-22

MARYLAND STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, INC.

COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

ETHICS DOCKET NO. 2000-22

Conflict of Interest Referral – Pro Se Assistance Services

 

You have asked about possible conflicts of interest you may have as a managing attorney of several public welfare projects providing reduced fee legal services in various Maryland counties. The services are provided in the fields of family law and domestic violence. Your role to be one of reviewing intake forms for compliance with your internal financial guidelines, avoidance of conflict of interest, and review of other statistical information.

For purposes of answering your questions, several assumptions must be made:

  1. Attorneys to whom you refer cases are not employees of your organization, and you and they are not disclosing confidential information to the opposite side of a dispute.
  2. Your review of the intake forms and communication with these attorneys providing services does not amount to "legal representation."
  3. The parties have actually disclosed confidential information on the basic intake sheet and you are in a position to actually communicate this information to someone representing one of the parties.

Assuming all of the above to be present, then your situation would appear to be governed by two of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules 1.6 and 1.7. Rule 1.6 prohibits a lawyer from revealing information regarding a client unless the client consents after consultation, except for disclosures that are impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation. However, you have not indicated if you reveal any information to anyone, rather you receive information which appears to be impliedly authorized by your supervisory capacity.

Rule 1.7 prohibits representation of a client which is directly adverse to another client unless the lawyer believes the representation will not adversely affect the relationship with another client. It does not appear that you as a supervisor are actually representing a client, but rather overseeing other attorneys who engage in giving legal advice.

In conclusion, the Committee does not feel that your involvement with these projects poses a real ethical problem. However, in order to avoid a technical conflict of interest, we recommend inserting an additional sentence to the application form or intake sheet which would provide the client's consent to administrative review of the client's information.

 

DISCLAIMER: Opinions of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) Ethics Committee are an uncompensated service of the MSBA. This Committee’s opinions are not binding on the Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission, MSBA or this Committee. The reader is advised that subsequent judicial opinions, revisions to the rules of professional conduct, and future opinions of this Committee may render the Opinions stated herein outdated. As such, the Committee’s opinions are advisory only and neither the Committee nor the MSBA assumes any liability whatsoever with respect thereto. Accordingly, reliance upon the opinions of this Committee is solely at the risk of the user.