Intellectual Property Law

Can lawyers from the same firm go against each other in court?

So if you have a firm with say 50 different lawyers, can two of them go against each other in court? Not like if they are partners in the firm but just lawyers working in the same firm. Like one for the plantiff and another for the defendant? Or is this illegal or unethical?

Public Comments

1. Essentially would be a conflict of interest. Ethically a hard scenario to defend against.
2. They usually don't because they get their money from one source. The reason they gang up together is so they can get more powerful and fight other law firms.
3. It depends on the situation. They can legally, but ethically it can be kinda hairy. If they have either one ever represented or been retained by either the plaintiff or defendant, then there is a conflict of interest. They would either have to recuse themselves or get the approval of both parties. Or If the co. had been retained by one with a specific clause in the contract forbidding this, then they could not pursue.
4. It is a conflict of interest and represents an illegality in most places as it compromises the representation of the clients. It is highly unlikely that it would happen anyway because this would have been ensured by the firm. If by accident, it does happen and they end in court, the judge or attorneys themselves will call for a change to be made.
5. I'm going to have to agree with the other posters, that I find this also odd. I DON'T think it'll happen, and if it does, it's unethical, because like they said, you're getting money from one source and you're also getting something from the opposing side and that's also grounds to make a complaint to the state bar on this matter. The ones, who can best answer this question would be the state bar and I'm pretty sure they'll say it's unethical and illegal. I don't know what state you're in, but I'd ask.
6. That's a potential conflict of interest. It's not forbidden, but it would need to be fully disclosed to both principals. A lawsuit involving two clients of the same law firm is fairly rare, but cases where two clients of the same firm are both needing confidential legal advice about a potential business deal with each other are pretty common - especially in some specialist firms. I have a close friend who's a partner in a firm that specializes in commercial real estate law. Their clients do business with one another all the time. Firms establish what are called "Chinese Walls" between associates or partners for these cases, to be sure that the lawyer handling "Joe" doesn't know "Bob" has said he's willing to pay, for example. It's still, of course, necessary to make sure the clients are fully aware of the relationships. Richard
7. No. Technically, each lawyer of the firm represents one entity, the senior attorney, which is the representative of a client. Each attorney is an agent for the firm which is an agent for the client. An agent acts in the stead of the client. For one member of a legal firm to oppose another of the firm would be a breech of the controlling concept of agency law. One person (legal firm) can not be an agent for two opposing clients simultaneously. Interest conflict pops to mind, but is not the real issue. Dual agency is. IF both represented clients are informed that both representing attorney's are in a state of dual agency, such a thing could happen, but it is extremely unlikely.
8. No they would not be allowed to because it would be conflict of interest.