Even in a city as sprawling and populated as Los Angeles, it’s not uncommon to have only one or two degrees of separation from someone you meet. That’s especially true with the multitude of close-knit communities that make up a city.
That’s why it is important to ensure that a family law attorney that you want to represent you in a divorce, custody or other family law matter does not have a conflict of interest because of a connection with your ex. It is the responsibility of the attorney to do their due diligence before spending any time discussing the case with a potential client to make sure they are not “conflicted” by any association with the other party.
A wide variety of potential conflicts of interest
A conflict of interest could be anything from an attorney knowing your ex through their children’s schools or sports teams or because they belong to the same gym. Even if the attorney’s spouse has some social or professional connection with your ex, that could pose a conflict of interest.
While attorneys tend to specialize in specific areas of the law, it’s not uncommon for a lawyer someone wants to hire for their divorce to have represented their spouse in a business or estate planning matter. A situation such as that would be an obvious conflict of interest.
What it means to “conflict out” an attorney
Even if an attorney has a consultation with one party in a divorce who ends up not hiring them, they are supposed to decline any request to consult with or represent the other party. You may have heard of celebrities or other wealthy and powerful divorcing spouses “conflicting out” the best attorneys in the area before filing divorce papers to prevent their spouse from hiring them.
One of the first questions an attorney or someone working for them should ask any potential family law client is who the other party is in the case. It might take some digging to uncover a connection, and it can be frustrating and discouraging if there is one. However, it’s better to find out about a conflict of interest upfront so you can move on and find someone else to represent you.
Unfortunately, sometimes people don’t find out about an attorney’s conflict of interest until it’s too late. If your case was harmed by your attorney’s undisclosed conflict, you may have grounds for a legal malpractice action.