Q. A client has asked me to handle her divorce, but I’ve never done one. Can I ethically represent her?
A. Lawyer competence to handle any given matter is addressed in RPC 1.1. Comment [2] provides that “a lawyer need not necessarily have special training or prior experience to handle legal problems of a type with which the lawyer is unfamiliar” and that “a lawyer can provide adequate representation in a wholly novel field through necessary study.” In addition, Comment [4] says that “a lawyer may accept representation where the requisite level of competence can be achieved by reasonable preparation.” A novice lawyer could also associate with a lawyer of “established competence” in the field at issue in order to competently represent the client.
ISBA members can browse past ISBA Ethics Opinions at www.isba.org/ethics