Legal Ethics in a New York Minute

Stay in compliance with your ethical obligations, avoid grievance complaints (ethics investigations) and minimize legal malpractice suits. Legal Ethics in a New York Minute is your legal ethics briefing designed to help you accomplish these goals. Each Season, host, Kaylin Whittingham analyzes the Ethical Rules, Disciplinary Decisions, and Ethics Opinions to share secrets to stay on track and tips on traps to avoid.

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Legal Ethics in a New York Minute

Episode 5 - Conflict of Interest

May 31, 2022 • Kaylin Whittingham • Season 1 • Episode 5

Welcome to the fifth episode of Legal Ethics in a New York Minute with host Kaylin Whittingham. Your Legal Ethics briefing where you’ll hear tips to stay on track and traps to avoid. In this episode, Kaylin discusses conflict of interest breaking it down into two broad categories; client conflict and personal conflict. Kaylin also gives some useful tips as to how you can minimize your risk of conflict and ways to protect yourself, if a conflict of interest does arise. Kaylin also goes into detail on what she calls the cost of conflicts. Join in on the discussion with Kaylin and suggest some topics you'd like to hear discussed.

This is a Seasonal Podcast with each Season having eight episodes that are released in two parts–four episodes each and offer tons of tips and nuggets from Kaylin's years of experience working in Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Kaylin was named Super Lawyer for Professional Liability in the New York Metro Area 2022 and Lawyer of Distinction 2022. In 2020, she was named in the Top 100 National Black Lawyers. She is the recipient of the 2018 National Bar Association Presidential Award; 2017 Association of Black Women Attorneys Achievement Award; and 2016 Black Women of Influence (BWOI) Trailblazer Award. Kaylin is featured in the Book and World Exhibit—"200 Women: Who Will Change the Way You See The World.” Guided by her mantra: "Inspire. Empower. Engage."—Kaylin advocates for women's rights, immigrants, victims of domestic violence, and the mentally ill.

0:00 - Intro

0:59 - Rundown of topics on conflict of interest

1:18 - Two broad categories of conflict

1.41 - 3 possible types of client conflict

2:56 - Reasons for personal conflict

3:28 - Rule 1.8 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct

4:52 - 3 things you can do to minimize risk of client conflict

6:18 - What happens if you do have a conflict?

7.:39 - The potential cost of conflict if you don't protect yourself

8:19 - Outro

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