In general, new Rule 1.10 tells us that if any lawyer in a firm has a conflict, then that conflict will be imputed to the entire firm. See, Rule 1.10(a). A firm of lawyers is essentially one lawyer for the purposes of client loyalty. Cmt. 1 to Rule 1.10.

That said, if the conflict is based on a personal interest of a lawyer and does not present a significant risk of materially limiting the representation by the other lawyers in the firm, then the representation can go forward because client loyalty and confidentiality are not at issue. See, Rule 1.10(a)(1) and cmt. 2. For example, if Lawyer A is on the board of the historic building preservation society and is adamantly against demolition for the sake of new development, Lawyer A’s personal beliefs will not conflict the rest of the attorneys in the firm from representing a developer who wants to…