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<p class="MsoNormal">Hypothetical Client Husband calls law office and speaks to employee A about working on his estate planning and schedules an appointment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hypothetical Client Wife calls law office and speaks to employee B about updating her estate planning and schedules an appointment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Both were making their first contact with the law firm and it is unknown who called first.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thoughts?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Heather<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Vladimir Script";color:#1F497D">Heather S. de Vrieze</span><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;color:#1F497D"><br>
</span></b><i><span style="font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#1F497D">Attorney-at-Law<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#1F497D"><img width="189" height="105" style="width:1.9701in;height:1.097in" id="_x0000_i1026" src="cid:image005.jpg@01D4D8F1.C226AEE0" alt="cid:image001.jpg@01D013C2.30F35160"></span></i><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Nyala;color:#44524E">3909 California Avenue SW<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Nyala;color:#44524E">Seattle, WA 98116-3705
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Nyala;color:#44524E">(206)938-5500
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:heatherd@westseattlelaw.com"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Nyala;color:#44524E">heatherd@westseattlelaw.com</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Nyala;color:#44524E">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.westseattlelaw.com/"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Nyala;color:#44524E">www.westseattlelaw.com</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Nyala;color:#44524E">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Nyala;color:#44524E"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#002E8A">Click here to connect with de Vrieze | Carney on Facebook:
</span></b><b><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span></b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DeVriezeCarney"><b><span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="72" height="21" style="width:.7462in;height:.2238in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image006.png@01D4D8F1.C226AEE0" alt="FB Logo"></span></b></a><span style="font-family:Nyala;color:#44524E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;color:#A6A6A6"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;color:#A6A6A6">CONFIDENTIAL & PRIVILEGED. This e-mail message may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately
and delete all copies of this e-mail message and any attachment.</span><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:blue"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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