042816 RIEO, ETH 2016-03

• Case Date: April 28, 2016
• Court: Rhode Island

ETH 2016-03 Ethics Advisory Panel Op. 2016-03 Rhode Island Ethics Opinions Rhode Island Supreme Court April 28, 2016           FINAL          FACTS          The inquiring attorney is a part-time municipal court judge in City, and also is the principal lawyer in a law firm. The inquiring attorney’s son will be filing a lawsuit in Superior Court against City relating to his termination of city employment. Attorneys in the inquiring attorney’s law firm represented his/her son in related arbitration proceedings. The same lawyers will represent the son in the Superior Court action. The inquiring attorney has not acquired confidential information about City during his tenure as a municipal court judge. The inquiring attorney states that he/she will be screened from his/her son’s case if lawyers in his/her law firm represent his son.          ISSUE PRESENTED          The inquiring attorney, who is a part-time municipal judge for City, asks whether lawyers in his/her law firm may represent his/her son in a lawsuit against City.          OPINION          It is not a conflict of interest under Rules 1.11 or 1.7 for the law firm of the inquiring attorney, who is also a part-time municipal court judge in City, to represent the inquiring attorney’s son in a Superior Court lawsuit against City.          REASONING          The inquiring attorney is a part-time municipal court judge and also has a private law practice. Two Rules of Professional Conduct must be considered to determine whether a conflict of interest exists under these facts, Rule 1.11 entitled “Special conflicts of interest for former and current government officers and employees” and Rule 1.7 entitled “Conflict of interest: Current clients.” Rule 1.11 states in pertinent part as follows.

Rule 1.11. Special conflicts of interest for former and current government officers and employees. (a) Except as law may otherwise expressly permit, a lawyer who has formerly served as a public officer or employee of the government:

(1) is subject to Rule 1.9(c); and

(2) shall not otherwise represent a client in connection with a matter in which the lawyer participated personally and substantially as a public officer or employee, unless the appropriate government agency gives its informed consent, confirmed in writing, to the representation.

(b) When a lawyer is disqualified from representation under paragraph (a), no lawyer in a firm with which that lawyer is associated may knowingly

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