Successive Representation
What does "Successive Representation" mean in law?
Model Rule 1.9 governs conflicts arising from a lawyer's duties to former clients, prohibiting a lawyer who has formerly represented a client in a matter from representing another person in the same or a substantially related matter where that person's interests are materially adverse to the former client, unless the former client gives informed consent confirmed in writing. The critical inquiry is whether the matters are 'substantially related,' which courts typically assess by examining whether the factual or legal issues overlap significantly or whether confidential information from the prior representation could be used to the former client's disadvantage. This rule protects the former client's reasonable expectation that information shared during the prior representation will not be used against them. The duty persists even after the attorney-client relationship ends and extends through imputation to the lawyer's firm.
Definition
Model Rule 1.9 governs conflicts arising from a lawyer's duties to former clients, prohibiting a lawyer who has formerly represented a client in a matter from representing another person in the same or a substantially related matter where that person's interests are materially adverse to the former client, unless the former client gives informed consent confirmed in writing. The critical inquiry is whether the matters are 'substantially related,' which courts typically assess by examining whether the factual or legal issues overlap significantly or whether confidential information from the prior representation could be used to the former client's disadvantage. This rule protects the former client's reasonable expectation that information shared during the prior representation will not be used against them. The duty persists even after the attorney-client relationship ends and extends through imputation to the lawyer's firm.
Example
An attorney who represented a pharmaceutical company in obtaining FDA approval for a drug cannot later represent plaintiffs suing that same company over the drug's side effects, because the matters are substantially related and the attorney likely possesses confidential information from the prior representation.