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GLOSSARY

Own interest conflict definition

Published by a LexisNexis Practice Compliance expert

What does Own interest conflict mean?

In conduct, this arises if an individual is fettered by their own interest and cannot as a consequence act in the best interests of the client in a particular matter.

The individual must exercise judgement as to whether anything about them, their personal interests, employment etc means that they will not be able to act in the best interests of a client. There is an absolute prohibition on acting in an own interest conflict situation.

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Conflicts of interest—regulatory requirements 2011 [Archived]

There are two types of conflict: own interest conflicts (sometimes called solicitor-client conflicts) and client conflicts. You can never act where there is an own interest conflict. You cannot act where there is a conflict between two or more clients unless:•one of two specific exceptions applies, and•additional safeguards are metYou may also encounter a situation where your duty of confidentiality to a former client conflicts with your duty of disclosure to a current client. These are dealt with separately in the SRA Handbook and are discussed briefly in this Practice Note.The SRA does not:•define what scenarios constitute a conflict of interest, or•prescribe detailed rules for identifying and managing conflictsOwn interest conflict An own interest conflict arises where:•your duty to act in the best interests of a client (in relation to a matter) conflicts with your own interests in relation to that or a related matter, or•there is a significant risk that your duty to act in the best interests of a client may conflict with your own interests in relation...

Acting for yourself, friends and family

Acting for yourself, friends and family This Practice Note covers considerations where a law firm wishes to act for one of its own partners or employees, where an individual lawyer wishes to represent or act for themselves, and for your lawyers representing or advising others in a personal capacity. Regulatory considerations There is no specific reference in the SRA Standards and Regulations to acting for friends and family. SRA Principles The SRA Principles require you to act: • in a way that upholds the constitutional principle of the rule of law, and the proper administration of justice—Principle 1 • in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the solicitors’ profession and in legal services provided by authorised persons—Principle 2 • with independence—Principle 3 • with honesty—Principle 4 • with integrity—Principle 5 • in the best interests of each client—Principle 7 Conflicts of interest The SRA Codes of Conduct impose an absolute prohibition on acting in an own interest conflict situation. You must not act for a client if there is...

Discover our 2 Practice Notes on Own interest conflict

Conflicts and confidentiality decision tree—can I act?

Conflicts and confidentiality decision tree—can I act? This conflicts and confidentiality decision tree works through the conflicts and confidentiality requirements in the SRA Standards and Regulations to help you reach a decision on whether we can act in a particular matter and understand what steps you need to follow in order to accept instructions. It covers the SRA’s regulatory requirements regarding confidential information belonging to current or former clients. It does not address confidentiality obligations to non-clients, eg under a confidentiality agreement with a third party. For more information about conflicts of interest and confidentiality, please refer to our Conflicts, confidentiality and disclosure policy. Click below to view or print the full-size PDF version: Note 1—prohibition on acting in an own interest conflict situation An own interest conflict arises where there is a conflict (or a significant risk of a conflict) between: • the personal or commercial interests of the firm or a member of our staff; and • our duty to act...

Conflicts and confidentiality register

Conflicts and confidentiality register Please click for an Excel version of this register. Please note that this register has been prepared in Excel and cannot be downloaded to Word. This register records decisions made to accept or reject instructions where a fee earner has reported a suspected conflict or confidentiality issue to the [head of department OR manager OR COLP] for a decision on whether the firm can act. It does not record situations where the fee earner has rejected instructions at the outset because the conflict was obvious and it was not necessary to refer the matter to the [head of department OR manager OR COLP] in accordance with our policy. Decision category It is helpful to classify different decisions and this register suggests using the following categories: Category Decision A There is no conflict and no suggestion that we hold material confidential information about another

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