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Opinion 18-04 |
Conflict of Interest - Personal Interests | Imputed Disqualification
The Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct do not prohibit a lawyer from accepting a testamentary gift from a client the lawyer is not related to so long as the lawyer does not solicit the gift or prepare the testamentary document making the gift. The Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct do not prohibit the lawyer from referring the client to another unaffiliated lawyer to advise the client and prepare the testamentary documents.
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Opinion 18-02 |
Conflict of Interest | Imputed Disqualification | Screening
As a means to avoid imputation of a conflict within a lawfirm, screening is only available when a lawyer becomes associated with a firm. Screening is not available to insulate existing members of a firm from each other’s potential conflicts.
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Opinion 12-13 |
Conflict of Interest - Personal Interests | Government Representation | Imputed Disqualification
A lawyer may not continue to represent a plan commission or city council after the lawyer’s partner has appeared before those bodies to oppose a zoning change. The lawyer’s recusal from the plan commission’s or city council’s consideration of the partner’s zoning matter will not remove the conflict of interest. However, the plan commission and city council may give informed consent to the lawyer’s continued representation in unrelated matters if the lawyer reasonably believes that the lawyer will be able to provide competent and diligent representation despite the conflict of interest. If the lawyer’s partner represents others in the zoning matter before the plan commission or city council, the partner must disclose the representation and conform to the applicable rules regarding candor to a tribunal.
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Opinion 12-12 |
Appearance of Impropriety | Conflict of Interest - Personal Interests | Government Representation | Imputed Disqualification
A lawyer may not continue to represent a school district against which the lawyer’s partner has initiated an adverse proceeding. Recusal from consideration of the partner’s adverse proceeding will not remove the conflict of interest. However, the school board may give informed consent to the lawyer’s continued representation in unrelated matters if the lawyer reasonably believes that the lawyer will be able to provide competent and diligent representation despite the conflict of interest. The notion of avoiding the “appearance of impropriety” is no longer a standard of lawyer professional conduct in Illinois.
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Opinion 11-04 |
Conflict of Interest - Personal Interests | Imputed Disqualification
A lawyer may not represent a defendant in a criminal matter where the lawyer's spouse is a police officer who has been identified as a witness for the prosecution on a contested matter.
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Opinion 09-02 |
Conflict of Interest | Imputed Disqualification | Multiple Representation
In a medical malpractice lawsuit where a physician and hospital are individual defendants with directly adverse positions, it is a conflict of interest for an attorney to represent the physician if the attorney’s law firm also represents the same hospital in other unrelated medical malpractice lawsuits unless the attorney reasonably believes the representation will not adversely affect the relationship with the other client and each client consents after disclosure. It is also a conflict of interest for an attorney to represent a physician in a medical malpractice lawsuit when the attorney also represents another physician in a unrelated medical malpractice lawsuit who will most likely be a witness against the first physician.
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Opinion 95-05 |
Conflict of Interest | Government Representation | Imputed Disqualification
It is not necessarily improper for a lawyer whose firm represents a city in defense of a variety of civil matters to undertake representation in unrelated matters of clients charged with violations of the Human Rights Ordinance of the city before its Human Rights Commission if both clients consent after full disclosure.
Any client of any lawyer in a law firm or of the firm itself is a client of every lawyer in the firm for the purpose of conflict of interest analysis.
Representation of a public body client in defense of various civil matters is directly adverse to the interests of that client in representation of another client before the Human Rights Commission, a creature of the city, empowered to enforce the city’s Human Rights Ordinance.
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Opinion 94-20 |
Imputed Disqualification | Lawyer Holding Public Office
Partner of lawyer who is also a municipal police officer should not represent a client in a claim against the municipality.
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Opinion 94-09 |
Former Judge | Imputed Disqualification
A former judge may not participate in a matter in which he was previously substantially involved as a judge. A firm failing to screen or prevent a former judge's participation in a case in which he was substantially involved results in the firm's disqualification.
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Opinion 88-02 |
Imputed Disqualification | Screening
Vicarious disqualification does not occur if an attorney possessing a conflict is, upon joining a new office, appropriately "screened" from contact.
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Opinion 84-05 |
Government Representation | Imputed Disqualification | Prosecutors
It is professionally proper for a law firm to represent a claimant in a personal injury case where the defendant has criminal charges pending arising from the same factual situation and a member of the law firm representing the Plaintiff was a member of the State's Attorney's Office at the time the criminal charges were pending, but was not involved with prosecution or disposition.
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Opinion 800 |
Former Judge | Imputed Disqualification
A former presiding judge is disqualified from any participation in matters in which he acted upon the merits in a judicial capacity.
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Opinion 729 |
Imputed Disqualification | Prosecutors
A partner of a law firm can represent a defendant in a criminal prosecution if another partner in that same firm is a Special Assistant State's Attorney responsible for civil matters only, and the client is fully advised and grants a waiver.
