Conflicts Intake vs Conflicts Research vs Conflicts Resolution

There is a clear distinction between intake, research & analysis, and resolution of conflicts.  Determining first if all the information you have is accurate and complete is critical in the conflicts clearance process.  Once you can confirm that all information is clear and complete, you can begin your research and analysis of the parties, practice area, and matter description.  What are some of the questions you should ask yourself when performing an intake of your conflict check request?

• Do I have the complete legal name of this entity or individual?
• Is this party a current / active client?
• Do we have an engagement letter for this client / attorney?
• Are we already adverse to this counterparty?
• If a known conflict exists, do we have consent?
• If this matter is a transaction, who is the opposing party (purchaser, seller, etc.)?
• If this is a dispute, is this a contentious or litigation matter? Do I have the correct description of this matter?
• Is this third party potentially adverse?
• How long will it take to search this party’s corporate family, officers, directors, or individual for sanctions or financial compliance?

Once these questions have been addressed, then you can determine a course of action. When you begin to perform research on an entity or individual, you will come across some more questions.  Depending on your policy and procedures, you may or may not need to run a full search of the entire corporate family tree, or a limited search, or no search at all. You may or may not need to run a credit check, or search sanctions or law enforcement databases.  You may simply be able to clear the matter yourself in minutes, or you may need to run a thorough examination into all of the parties and, if conflicts exist, obtain all the consent you can, and / or move it forward for review by an attorney or committee.

Conflicts resolution can be tricky and requires in some firms an attorney to resolve potential conflicts, and implement ethical walls.  How does your firm approach this process?  We invite you to share in the comments section below.

Ryan Vago
Founder & President
RION Corp.