TLIE Self-Audit Conflict of Interest Checklist
An excerpt from TLIE's Claims Prevention Tool, "The Legal Malpractice Self-Audit Checklist"
This checklist is designed to let you evaluate your practice and your firm's procedures for detecting and dealing with conflicts of interest. The checklist is not comprehensive, but it can raise questions that could help you avoid problems with conflicts of interest. Preferred answers to the questions are all YES, except for Question 9.
Failure to give the preferred answer does not necessarily mean you have a serious problem, but it does suggest you should evaluate why you do or do not do what the question suggests is the right answer.
- Do you and your firm have a comprehensive system for discovering conflicts of interest?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- Do you and your firm have procedures to prevent opening a file without obtaining basic conflict of interest information?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- Do you check for any potential conflicts prior to receiving confidential information from a potential client?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- Do you share information, through new matter memoranda, on the identity of new and prospective clients with attorneys and appropriate staff on at least a weekly basis?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- Does your firm have a centralized index, accessible to attorneys and staff, of the following parties? (NOTE: This is an ideal index. You may be able to check for some of these conflicts through the new matter memos suggested in Question 4.)
- attorneys and staff of the firm;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- business interests of attorney or staff;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- Clients;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- persons declined as clients;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- adverse parties;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- co-plaintiffs or defendants;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- known allies of clients and adverse parties;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- subject matter of representation;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- known relatives of anyone in the index;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- corporate parents or subsidiaries of any entity in the index;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- trade names of entities in the index;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- directors and officers of entities in the index;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- partners or known shareholders of entities in the index;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- known employees of entities in the index;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- attorneys for any party in the index?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- If a potential conflict is detected, do you either decline to take the case or notify the client of the potential conflict in writing every time?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- Does your firm have form letters for conflict disclosures that seem to occur on a regular basis?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- Does your firm have a mandatory review procedure for all cases proposed to be accepted in potential conflict of interest situations?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- Do you or anyone in your firm engage in any of the following practices?
- act as both an attorney and an officer or director for the same corporation;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- have a financial interest in a client matter;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- represent adverse parties in "friendly" suits (such as a friendly divorce) or real controversies;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- participate in a business transaction along with a client;
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- accept stock in lieu of fees?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
- Do you always (a) confirm who you represent in writing, and (b) inform non-clients, such as partners in partnerships that you represent or family members of clients who ask for advice, who might believe that you represent them that you do not represent them in writing?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
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