24 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
Q3 2019
I
t used to be when a lawyer was going to meet with general counsel, they were
going to see a client. Today, it may just as easily be someone at their own firm.
With risk management increasingly fraught, avoiding client conflicts is key.
Many law firms now have dedicated general counsel to review the terms of en-
gagement letters, which include conflict provisions, and advise partners on nego-
tiating waivers where appropriate.
"Client conflicts are probably one of the greatest risk-management issues for a
law firm," says Terry Burgoyne, general counsel at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
"We deal with it daily, and the vast majority are easily resolved. But if one gets it
wrong, it can have a number of implications. It can have a real liability impact, and
some firms have stumbled on that. And, more importantly, it can have an impact
on client relations."
ere are two types of client conflicts, he says. One is where there is a straight
legal conflict: e firm can't act for both sides on an adversarial issue. e other is
a business conflict where, for example, the firm takes on a new client who competes
with an existing client, but to advise them in an entirely different practice area.
"While there's no strict legal conflict, there's an issue that would require us to
choose between one engagement or the other, or turn down a new engagement
because it may make a very good client unhappy."
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
AS CLIENTS BECOME
MORE SOPHISTICATED,
LAW FIRMS ARE
CHALLENGED TO
KEEP UP ON CLIENT
CONFLICTS
By Sandra Rubin
TERMS OF
ENGAGEMENT
