The issue addressed by Ethics Opinion 09-03 is whether a law firm can represent a client in litigation arising out of a business transaction in which the firm also represented the client. The Opinion applies two tests for determining whether a lawyer can continue her representation of the client. The first concerns whether the representation will be materially limited by the personal interest of the lawyer to defend her own work product. The second test concerns whether the lawyer will be a necessary witness in the trial. The thrust of the opinion leans towards finding a conflict of interest in such cases.
Here is a link to the opinion: http://tinyurl.com/ksn65l.
-Marc Ward
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