Opinion 104
Question Presented
Attorney A represented plaintiff in a divorce action in which she gained custody of the children and an award for child support, secured by a lien against the family home. Subsequently attorney B was employed by the man who had been defendant in the divorce action to bring a suit to modify some of the provisions of the original decree in respect to child support. Thereafter, A and B became partners. There is now pending a suit by the woman who was plaintiff in the divorce action to foreclose the lien on the homestead; she is represented in this action by a different attorney, who has no connection with A or B. The present suit necessarily involves construction of the divorce decree and of the order modifying the decree. Would it violate the Canons of Ethics for B to represent the ex-husband in the pending litigation?
18 Baylor L. Rev. 237 (1966)
CONFLICTING INTERESTS - PARTNER'S EMPLOYMENT
One member of a firm may not represent the defendant in a suit to enforce a divorce decree where another partner, who subsequently joined the firm, had represented the plaintiff in obtaining the divorce originally, even though the plaintiff now has independent counsel.
Canon 6.
The members of the committee are unanimously of the opinion that it would violate Canon 6 for B to accept employment in the pending litigation. (10-0)
Bluebook Citation
Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 104 (1954)