Issue Number 2, 2004

Conflicts of interest are the "silent killers" of legal malpractice. A 1999 ABA study of legal malpractice claims indicates that conflict of interest was the primary alleged error in only 5.12% of legal malpractice claims. TLIE's statistics indicate, however, that conflicts often are alleged in conjunction with other errors. In a study of TLIE's claims between 1996 and 2001, 16.4% of all claims reflected an allegation of conflict of interest, with 22.5% of all losses and defense costs involved a conflict of interest.

The following is a brief, limited review of the law of conflicts of interest in Texas. Should you have a question about a particular situation, please review applicable rules and case law. All rules cited below are the Texas Rules of Professional Conduct.

One key to avoiding conflict claims is confirming who is and who is not a client. If a lawyer undertakes actions that could lead a person to reasonably believe they are a client, liability may result as if an attorney client relationship exists. See Parker v. Carnahan, 772 S.W.2d 151,157 (Tex. App.-Texarkana 1989, writ denied). The best conflicts system in the world is useless if a lawyer fails to appreciate that they have allowed someone to form a reasonable belief that they were the client.