Conflicts of interest: Time for a change?

Holland, Susan; Heenan, Susan; Harris, Margaret; Whewell, Emma; Worthington, Jane

Abstract

The Law Society is currently undertaking a wide-ranging review of the regulation of the solicitors' profession, including the regulation of conflicts of interest. It is acknowledged that such conflicts are among the most common and the most central problems of ethics faced by modern practitioners. Moreover, as Lord Millet has recently recognised: “The question {of conflicts of interest} has become of increased importance with the emergence of huge international firms with enormous resources that operate on a global scale and offer a comprehensive range of services to clients. ”Yet, despite their importance for professional conduct, conflicts of interest have, perhaps surprisingly, remained both conceptually illusive and difficult to identify in practice. Furthermore there has been very little empirical research into the nature and scope of conflicts in legal practice settings. The authors are undertaking a study designed to discover how, in given circumstances, solicitors in England and Wales identify and respond to conflicts of interest between clients, or to the potential for such conflicts. The first phase of this study is complete and this article constitutes, in part, a report on work in progress. They also comment on the efficacy of the present regulation of conflicts of interest, and on proposals for change put forward by solicitors practising in the City of London, and therefore begin by outlining the current law on solicitors' conflicts of interest and highlighting the additional restrictions imposed by the Law Society's rules of professional conduct.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 4, 1999
• Online Publication Date: May 1, 2015
• Publication Date: 2000
• Deposit Date: Jan 24, 2024
• Journal: Legal Ethics
• Print ISSN: 1460-728X
• Electronic ISSN: 1757-8450
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 132-151
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1460728X.2000.11424126
• Keywords: solicitors; legal ethics; conflicts of interest; Bolkiah; vignettes; focus groups
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11627491