[WSBAPT] Potential Conflict and RPC 1.6 & 1.7

[Heather deVrieze]

Hypothetical Client Husband calls law office and speaks to employee A about working on his estate planning and schedules an appointment.
Hypothetical Client Wife calls law office and speaks to employee B about updating her estate planning and schedules an appointment.
Both were making their first contact with the law firm and it is unknown who called first.
No confidential client information has yet been obtained, and there is no client agreement for either. There is no particular reason to believe either believes the fact of scheduling the appointment was to be held in confidence.

While I regularly represent couples in a joint estate plan with appropriate disclosures and consent, and also regularly represent one half of a couple (while other half obtains representation elsewhere) I am pretty sure law firm can't represent them both separately.

The question is how does law firm decline representation of either, or arrange for joint representation without revealing information relating to the representation to each of them the fact of the other's contact with law firm, and would such a disclosure be prohibited?

Thoughts?

Heather

Heather S. de Vrieze
Attorney-at-Law
[cid:image001.jpg at 01D013C2.30F35160]
3909 California Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98116-3705
(206)938-5500
heatherd at westseattlelaw.com<mailto:heatherd at westseattlelaw.com>
www.westseattlelaw.com<http://www.westseattlelaw.com/>

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