With their powers of analysis and ability to get quickly up to speed, lawyers often become star members of nonprofit boards. But professional conduct rules pose challenges for lawyer board members, Chicago lawyer Dan Ebner writes in this month's The Bottom Line, newsletter of the ISBA's committee on law office management. 

"The role of a board member who happens to be an attorney can inadvertently slide into that of an attorney who represents the organization through its board," Ebner warns. And even a lawyer board member who deliberately chooses to represent the organization can step on an ethical landmine.

For example, lawyer board members might be pressured to give free legal advice outside their competence by others on the board. Or the lawyer's role as a board member could compromise his or her ability to represent a given client. The lawyer board member should consider whether she has confidential information that will affect the advice she gives her client or, alternatively, the decisions she makes as a board member, Ebner writes. And she should question whether her desire to see her client succeed -- or her board -- will limit her "ability to give independent professional advice to the client, and to use proper business judgment when participating in board decisions," he writes. Read his article and find out more.