Does a firm conflict arise when one lawyer defends a city in tort matters while colleagues oppose it in other matters?

Plain-English summary

The lawyer represented a city through its insurance carrier on tort claims. Other members of the firm represented businesses occasionally involved in condemnation cases against the city and criminal defendants accused of municipal violations.

On that arrangement, the answer says the lawyer had a conflict under Rules 4-1.7(a) and 4-1.10. The published answer does not discuss consent, screening, or whether the particular matters were related.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1998, before Missouri's 2007 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context and verify current rules before relying on it.

Common questions

Q: Did the different subject matter of the firm's cases avoid the conflict?

A: No. The answer finds a conflict even though the lawyer handled tort claims and colleagues opposed the city in condemnation and municipal criminal matters.

Q: Which rules did the opinion cite?

A: Rules 4-1.7(a) and 4-1.10.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies the cited conflict and imputation provisions to the lawyer's city representation and the firm's concurrent adverse work against the city.

Citations and references

Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Rule 4-1.7(a)
• Rule 4-1.10

See also

• Missouri Informal Op. 990120: Office Sharing and Municipal Defense
• Missouri Informal Op. 2025-09: City Attorney as Organizational Counsel

Source

• Landing page: https://mo-legal-ethics.org/informal-opinion/980004/
• Rule revision reference: Missouri Informal Opinion 20030007

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

QUESTION: Attorney represents a city through its insurance carrier in a tort claim. Attorney´s firm represents several businesses which are occasionally involved in condemnation cases against the city. Other members of Attorney´s firm represent criminal defendants in municipal violations. Is there a conflict of interest for Attorney if he represents the city on tort claims and other attorneys in the firm are in opposition to the city in non-tort matters such as criminal defense and condemnation? ANSWER: In the situation Attorney has described, Attorney has a conflict of interest under Rules 4–1.7(a) and 4–1.10.