ISBA Ethics Opinions on Conflict of Interest - Litigation Matters

Opinion 19-01 | Conflict of Interest - Litigation Matters | Fee Agreements | Fees and Expenses
Class representative fee arrangement providing for additional compensation beyond court awarded amount

Lawyers should carefully consider fee agreements under which they may be required to use part of their court-awarded fees in a class action case to compensate class representatives beyond the amount the court approves for that purpose. Such agreements create a substantial risk that the lawyer is operating under a conflict of interest that cannot be waived, because such a fee agreement places the interests of the lawyer’s client, the class representative, at odds with the interests of absent class members, to whom the lawyer owes fiduciary obligations.
Opinion 98-06 | Communication With Unrepresented Person | Conflict of Interest - Litigation Matters
Representing one spouse in divorce and both spouses in bankruptcy

Lawyer may represent husband against wife in divorce where wife is not represented; but lawyer may not, at same time, represent husband and wife jointly in filing for bankruptcy.
Opinion 96-06 | Conflict of Interest - Litigation Matters | Fees Paid by Third Party | Impaired Client
Concurrent representation of parents and minor child

Lawyer cannot continue to represent both parents and child when the parents have placed restrictions on the lawyer's representation of the child. The lawyer is required to exercise independent professional judgment on behalf of the child. The lawyer cannot be influenced by one other than the client merely because the other is paying the lawyer to represent the client.
Opinion 93-09 | Conflict of Interest - Litigation Matters
Representing driver and passenger in automobile accident litigation

ISBA Advisory Opinions on Professional Conduct are prepared as an educational service to members of the ISBA. While the opinions express the ISBA interpretation of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct and other relevant materials in response to a specific hypothesized fact situation, they do not have the weight of law and should not be relied upon as a substitute for individual legal advice. For more information, call the ISBA Legal Department at (217) 525-1760 or (800) 252-8908.