Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam Practice Question
Attorney Joe is an active board member of an organization that provides assistance in wage disputes. The organization is considering support of a proposed statute that would impose new requirements on large businesses. Joe’s client, who runs a large business, objects to the proposed statute. What course of action best reflects Joe’s ethical obligations?
He should leave the board to avoid any appearance of divided loyalty
He should inform the group’s leadership of his potential conflict and remove himself from relevant discussions if the group’s decision might undermine his duties to his client
He should compel the board to align its decisions with his client’s interests to satisfy the client’s demands
He may continue all board activities because volunteer roles are exempt from conflict restrictions
A lawyer may serve on the board of a legal assistance organization while representing other clients. However, the lawyer should avoid engaging in or influencing decisions that could compromise loyalty to the client. This usually means disclosing the potential conflict and recusing from decisions that would substantially affect the client’s interests if it might undermine the lawyer’s duty of loyalty. Other answers are incorrect because they either mandate immediate resignation without considering other protective measures or allow unfettered participation without recognizing the conflict.
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Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam
Lawyers’ duties to the public and the legal system