Could a Vermont firm foreclose for a lender against a former client whom it represented in the property purchase?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1987. Ask about yours and see what the current Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
A lawyer and firm sometimes represented purchasers when mortgages were created, then later received foreclosure work from local lenders. The question concerned foreclosure against a mortgagor the firm had represented in that property's purchase.
The committee said the lawyer's continuing loyalty to the former purchaser barred taking the lender's adverse foreclosure case arising from the same transaction. It extended the disqualification to all affiliated lawyers under DR 5-105(D).
The opinion said consent under DR 5-105(C) could not remove the prohibition because the lawyer could not adequately represent both the former purchaser's and the lender's interests in that foreclosure.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1987 under Vermont's former Code of Professional Responsibility. The Vermont Supreme Court's rules history says the Rules of Professional Conduct replaced the Code and applied to lawyer conduct after September 1, 1999; the court later made comprehensive amendments in 2009. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement.
Common questions
Q: Did the end of the purchase representation remove the conflict?
A: No. The committee said loyalty to the former purchaser continued in a foreclosure arising from the same transaction.
Q: Could another lawyer in the firm act for the lender?
A: No. The opinion imputed the disqualification to partners, associates, and affiliated lawyers.
Q: Could client consent cure this conflict?
A: No. The committee said adequate representation of both interests was impossible on these facts.
Background and rules framework
The committee applied former Code DR 5-105(A) to differing interests, DR 5-105(D) to firmwide disqualification, and DR 5-105(C) to the limits of client consent.
Citations and references
Vermont Code of Professional Responsibility:
- DR 5-105(A), DR 5-105(C), DR 5-105(D)
Other opinions cited:
- ABA Informal Opinion 1322 (1975)
See also
- Vermont Ethics Op. 88-12: Unrelated former clients
- Vermont Ethics Op. 89-15: Competing former client
Source
- Landing page: VBA conflict of interest opinions
- Original PDF: Vermont Advisory Opinion 87-18
- Rules history: Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct, “These rules apply to lawyer conduct after September 1, 1999.”
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