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Rule 6.3
Membership in Legal Services Organization
A lawyer may serve as a director, officer, or
member of a legal services organization, apart from the law firm in
which the lawyer practices, notwithstanding that the organization
serves persons having interests adverse to a client of the lawyer.
However, the lawyer shall not knowingly participate in a decision
or action of the organization:
(a) if participating in the decision or action
would be incompatible with the lawyer’s obligations to a
client under Rule 1.7; or
(b) where the decision or action could have a
material adverse effect on the representation of a client of the
organization whose interests are adverse to a client of the lawyer.
COMMENTS
[1] Lawyers should be encouraged to support and
participate in legal service organizations. A lawyer who is an
officer or a member of such an organization does not thereby have a
client-lawyer relationship with persons served by the organization.
However, there is potential conflict between the interests of such
persons and the interests of the lawyer’s clients. If the
possibility of such conflict were alone sufficient to disqualify a
lawyer from serving on the board of a legal services organization,
then the profession’s involvement in such organizations would
be severely curtailed.
[2] It may be necessary in appropriate cases to
reassure a client of the organization that the representation will
not be affected by conflicting loyalties of a member of the board.
Established, written policies in this respect can enhance the
credibility of such assurances.
DEFINITIONAL CROSS-REFERENCES
“Knowingly”See RPC 1.0(g)
“Law Firm” See RPC 1.0(e)
“Material” See RPC 1.0(h)
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