My sister is an attorney – in another state, I should add, so she couldn’t represent me even if I needed her – and she changes the subject whenever I ask her. In the U.S., is it considered untoward for an attorney to represent family members in civil, criminal cases? Like if I lived in the same state as my sister (and if she wasn’t such a pill about it*), could she represent me if I was on the business end of a criminal charge? Or if I filed a lawsuit?
*She’s actually not a pill at all, she just doesn’t work directly in civil/criminal law, and she’s seen the inside of a courtroom exactly once in her career. She shuts me down when I ask this question of her because it’s irrelevant – she couldnt’ represent anyone, family or no, in any case, because that’s not the type of law she practices.
Not necessarily. But whether an attorney should do it hinges more on whether there is a conflict of interest rather than familial relationships. The attorney should also evaluate whether they can represent someone objectively and fairly without emotional involvement getting in the way.
Some states may have more specific rules on this sort of thing.
I’m a lawyer, though not an American one, and I’d also say that what matters is whether there’s a conflict of interest - either between the client’s interest and the attorney’s personal interests, or between the interests of two different clients. That’s where it becomes unethical to act. Family relationships between the attorney and the client may lead to conflicts of interest, but they don’t inevitably have to.
Yes, there’s no general prohibition on that (although, as noted by others, it would have to be clear there was no conflict of interest. Who are you suing, for example. Or is another member of the family a victim or co-defendant in your criminal case?)
If you wanted to sue your insurance company because they didn’t pay your water damage claim, I don’t see a problem with your sister representing you if that’s her area of specialization.
If one of my kids were charged with murder, however, I think it might be too difficult for me to handle the case professionally. I’ve certainly written stern “lawyer letters” on behalf of family members though.
Interesting note, our malpractice carrier strong advises against this, as lawyers tend to get involved in things they normally wouldn’t and are outside their comfort zone when representing friends and family. Apparently, a lot of egregious mistakes are made this way. A friend needed some probate advice the other day, I thought I knew the answer, but it’s not my area, and I told her I didn’t want to guess, and referred her to someone who did that kind of work.
My sister and I are both parties in the matter of the bank repossessing our father’s house into which he went arrears on the mortgage (being dead and all). Neither of us have any interest in the property and are more than happy to see it burned down for all either of us care. And it’s extremely unlikely that either of us are going to be on the hook for any money, considering that the bank can sue the estate but not the heirs. Regardless, she herself has retained an attorney who works in Probate Law.
Interesting that with lawyers there’s apparently a difference compared to medicine, where it’s generally considered improper to treat family members (typical exceptions being emergencies, marked physical isolation or a rare situation where you’re the only specialist capable of dealing with it).
You’d think that the potential for damaging conflicts of interest (or perceptions of same) that aren’t immediately obvious, should apply to the legal profession as well.
The two obvious movie references here are My Cousin Vinnie and Scenes From a Mall (in the latter, Woody Allen plays a divorce attorney who successfully convinces his wife to retain him for the divorce proceedings - now that would indeed be a conflict of interest).
If it’s something really boring and uncomplicated, that’s okay. But if it’s anything serious, or if there are options (for instance, if that ear infection doesn’t clear up promptly) it’s considered better not to treat your family.
There is no law which specifically prohibits a physician from evaluating, diagnosing, treating, or prescribing controlled substances to a family member, employee or friend. However, the practice is discouraged. There are laws to consider when assessing any prescribing issues which include, but are not limited to: 1) a physician cannot prescribe without an appropriate prior exam and a medical indication for the prescription, and 2) an adequate and accurate medical record relating to the provision of services to the patient and documenting the medical need for the prescription must be created and maintained by the physician.
Physicians’ children should be under the care of an independent practitioner(s), as outlined here.
What constitutes best practices and what happens in real life can be two different things - for instance, it’s not unusual for a doc to give medical advice to family members. But one who gets in the habit of writing prescriptions for family members and relatives and/or providing their care could wind up having problems of a legal or regulatory kind.
It’s not prohibited in Florida. But it’s not considered the best practice. Attorneys should be able to give advice from a disinterested perspective. Clearly, there are going to be emotional considerations when family is involved. And most lawyers practice in a fairly narrow range of areas of the law, so it’s unlikely that one’s family member case will be in your area of competence. (It’s not unknown for lawyers to take any case that they are hired for, especially in small towns, but personally I think it’s a virtual guarantee of malpractice.)
See also Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8(j):
A lawyer shall not have sexual relations with a client unless a consensual sexual relationship existed between them when the client-lawyer relationship commenced.
So you can marry your lawyer while they’re representing you - but if you were both “saving yourselves for marriage,” you can’t consummate the marriage until the representation ends.
The “conflict of interest” caveat mentioned several times here I think is key. But it can still be very handy to have a family member in the profession. One of my close relatives is an attorney, and though I’ve never asked and never needed her to actually “represent” me for anything, she’s been wonderfully valuable for things like notarizing or otherwise certifying documents, her little gadget that impresses an official legal seal on a document has saved me a lot of money and hassle, and as an added bonus, I usually get a nice dinner out of it when I visit! A lawyer in the family is always a good thing! I must say, though, that despite our close family relationship, she is extremely scrupulous about making sure that whatever she’s notarizing is exactly correct.
My physician BIL has been an invaluable resource for my parents when they had complex medical issues. At least when he reviews the work done by their actual doctors he can have a fruitful conversation with them, and the family, so people know what’s happening.
With attorneys, I’d imagine having a family member do a quick review of the issues can help keep things on track, but if there’s real work involved you’re better off having someone who specializes in the problem devote their time to it.
Conflict of interest can be a bear. When I was contemplating divorce and was living apart, my then-wife said she’d cooperate with divorce proceedings if I’d wait until our kids were both out of high school, as she was mostly concerned with them.
Of course I agreed. When the time came, I went to my friend (an attorney) who had offered to handle the divorce pro bono (he owed me a favor).
Everything was going along fine, I thought. But a few months in he asked me to stop in. Turns out my then-wife was dragging her feet, making excuses, hadn’t done thing one. He told me she was an evil-genius. Having represented the two of us, there was now a conflict of interest to his representing me against her.
So, he referred me to a good divorce attorney and before we could file, my then-wife had me served at work. Alls well that ends well, it was worth every penny.
I’m not sure what notaries do where you live, but I think the idea is that in many cases with physicians/lawyers/therapist the relationship might actually affect the care/advice - which (in my jurisdiction) is not an issue when the notary (or lawyer) is simply witnessing a signature and not giving advice at all.
The fact is, the majority of legal problems that arise in people’s lives are of a routine and straightforward nature. Things like reviewing a lease of an apartment before signing, or advising how to get out of an online order for a product the buyer doesn’t want anymore. I do this for friends and relatives all the time, and I suppose so do many other lawyers. Things would be different in a more complex dispute, especially if there’s a potential for litigation. But that’s not what most of these “You’re a lawyer, can I ask you a favour…?” situations are like.
I would consider it a “conflict of interest”. I’ve heard of cases where a judge would recluse himself from a trial if he was related to the defendant or even the family of the victim.
But this is for the judge, who is supposed to be impartial. The legal advisors to the parties are not held to the same standard of impartiality as the judge (because they are, after all, advising someone who is a party to the dispute).
A lawyer in the family is always a good thing! I must say, though, that despite our close family relationship, she is extremely scrupulous about making sure that whatever she’s notarizing is exactly correct.