| LEO Num | Topics | Summary | Date |
1465
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| A Commonwealth's Attorney who is a member of a homeowner's association may provide information to the homeowner's association about trespassers on common property owned by the association, because the Commonwealth's Attorney's personal interest creates only a de minimis conflict. | 6/9/1992 |
0980
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| A lawyer living in a neighborhood requiring membership in a homeowners association (and who thus has personal interests at stake) may represent the association if everyone consents. | 10/12/1987 |
1306
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| A lawyer may not enter into a contingent fee arrangement with a merchant's association that plans to bring collection actions on behalf of its individual members, because the automatic contingent fee arrangement between the lawyer and the intermediary (association) might prevent the lawyer and the client from considering or entering into an alternative arrangement, thus usurping the normal relationship between the lawyer and client. | 1/19/1990 |
0739
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| A lawyer may represent landowner association while suing individual members, as long as failure to pay dues results in loss of right to vote in the association. | 11/1/1985 |
1168
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| A lawyer representing a homeowner's association has an attorney-client relationship with the entity, and therefore may represent the association in a declaratory judgment action against some of its members (who are not otherwise clients of the law firm). | 11/16/1988 |
ABA-365
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| A lawyer representing a trade association must first determine whether an attorney-client relationship exists with the individual members of the association. Rule 1.13 generally indicates that the lawyer represents the entity, and a Comment to that rule "notes that the duties it defines apply equally to unincorporated associations. Thus the approach taken in this opinion is not affected by whether or not the trade association is recognized as a separate jural entity." Although generally a trade association's lawyer does not represent individual members, "circumstances in a particular instance" might support a finding that such a relationship exists (for instance, the smaller the association, the more likely the relationship). Even if the lawyer does not represent the individual association members, the members might be considered "derivative" clients or "vicarious" clients for conflicts purposes. "For example, and most typically, if the member has disclosed relevant confidential information to the association's counsel (a factor that may indicate the existence of an actual lawyer-client relationship, but which in the Committee's view is also one of the particular facts that can require disqualification in the 'derivative' client analysis), disqualification is required." | 7/6/1992 |
0692
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| A lawyer representing an unincorporated condominium association against unit owners who have not paid their assessments may also represent the unit owners in a class action against the manufacturer of the condominium's air conditioning system. | 5/10/1985 |
0310
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| As long as all clients consent, a lawyer may defend an action brought by the owner's council of a condominium even though the lawyer represents a number of condominium unit owners in unrelated matters. | 12/13/1978 |
1497
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| The ethical rules permit a law firm to enter into an agreement with a national trade association under which the firm would provide a free initial consultation to association members, and offer discounted fees to any association member who hired the firm. The lawyer could not let the association direct the lawyer's representation of individual members. | 10/19/1992 |