Opinions of the General Counsel, 0716 ALBJ, 77 The Alabama Lawyer 308 (2016)
| Author | J. Anthony McLain, J. |
J. Anthony McLain, J.
Law firm may not “choose” between conflicting present clients and withdraw from representation so as to relegate one present client to “former client” status in order to take advantage of less stringent conflict rules
QUESTION:
“I have found myself in a situation where my opponent in litigation contends that my law firm must withdraw from representation of a longtime client, A, for whom we have acted as general counsel, due to an alleged conflict of interest under Rule 1.7 of the new Rules of Professional Conduct which became effective January 1, 1991. I would appreciate receiving a confidential opinion from you as to whether we can take advantage of the comments to Rule 1.7 and withdraw from representing client C and continue to represent client A under Rule 1.9.
“The situation arose when I filed suit on behalf of our longtime client A against B, an Alabama general partnership, and its general partners C and D, for breach of a construction contract and a fraud in the inducement and during performance of the contract. We also alleged a pattern and practice of fraud based on other jobs handled by D who was overseeing the construction work for B. C did not get involved with the construction project and did not commit any of the alleged fraud and is not claimed to be part of a pattern and practice. C is only included in the lawsuit by virtue of being a general partner in B, and thus liable for the acts of B.
“Shortly after filing suit, I learned that another lawyer in our firm, Jane Doe, was representing C on a one-time matter which was totally unrelated to the litigation. This is the only time we have represented C. The unrelated matter involved preparing the necessary legal documents for a condominium development. The condominium project was not connected in any way with the project out of which the construction lawsuit arose. Different entities were the owners of the two projects and different people were involved in each project. The only connection of C with the construction project was that it was a general partner of the owner of the construction project, B, a general partnership.
“Legal work on the condominium project for C commenced in April 1989. For several years prior to this date, my law firm had acted as general counsel for A. In September 1989, A entered into a construction contract with B for a project which was not in...
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