These summaries were prepared by McGuireWoods LLP lawyer Thomas E. Spahn. They are based on the letter opinions issued by the Virginia State Bar. Any editorial comments reflect Mr. Spahn's current personal views, and not the opinions of the Virginia State Bar, McGuireWoods or its clients. 
 
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ABA-367

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1-Adversity to Current Clients

24-Representation of or Adversity to Witnesses

27-Litigation Tactics (Including Misrepresentations, Tape Recordings)

"The Committee concludes that a lawyer's examining the lawyer's client as an adverse witness, or conducting third party discovery of a client, will ordinarily present a conflict of interest that is disqualifying absent consent of one or both of the clients involved (depending . . . on the nature and degree of the conflict)." A witness would be considered a current client for conflicts purposes "if there is a continuing relationship between lawyer and client, even if the lawyer is not on a retainer, and even if no active matters are being handled." A lawyer in that situation could face a conflict if the lawyer has "specific confidential information relevant to the cross-examination," or even if the lawyer only has general information -- "to the extent a lawyer's general familiarity with how a client's mind works is relevant and useful information, it may also be disqualifying information within the contemplation of Rule 1.8(b), which generally prohibits a lawyer from using information relating to the representation of a client to the disadvantage of the client unless the client consents after consultation." In a situation where the lawyer is called upon to cross-examine a doctor client who is acting as the adversary's expert witness, "there will almost inescapably be a direct adverseness," thus requiring the doctor's consent to handle the cross-examination. "In some instances, a sufficient solution may be to provide for other counsel, also representing the litigation counsel, to deal with the client-witness: where local counsel as well as principal counsel are involved in a litigation, the disqualication applying to one of these will not ordinarily affect the other. In other circumstances, a satisfactory solution may be the retention of another lawyer solely for the purpose of examining the principal lawyer's client."

Copyright 2000, Thomas E. Spahn