Benefits of a Standardized Process for Conflict Checks

I have been reading a book by Sandra J. Roberts called "Creating Conflicts of Interest Procedures for Protecting You and Your Firm from Malpractice", and have found it aligned with what I already knew; while providing additional detail and ideas for our Conflicts Analysis Standardization Effort (C.A.S.E.).

Have a look at a part of the Foreward:

"The objective for an effective conflicts of interest department is to create one that processes client names and associated party information accurately, efficiently and rapidly with minimal time taken away from the attorney's legal representations and valuable billable hours. Developing these effective conflicts of interest procedures has many benefits. Not only can effective procedures enable attorneys to reduce their risk, but it may help lower their professional liability insurance premiums. In order to do that, the process does not need to be cumbersome. It can be completed quickly with the right procedures in place regardless of the size of the firm. These procedures include implementation of the following actions:

• Entering accurate information into a conflicts database.
• Searching party information properly through the conflicts database and other research database resources.
• Reviewing the results to eliminate extraneous information.
• Clearing and approving the applicable results.
• Setting up further procedures to manage potential conflicts of interest issues."

While this is a very simplified 30,000 foot view of conflicts, I think it speaks to the Conflicts Standard that we're looking to develop at RION Corp. under the C.A.S.E.

To that end, we should have in mind the possible benefits of setting up and implementing the standard:

• Reduced Firm & Attorney Risk
• Reduced Insurance Premiums
• Increased Confidence in Accepting Business
• Creation of Competency Standards
• Increased Analyst Confidence = Additional Speed
• Best Practice Always Used
• Heightened Efficiency in Conflicts and Business Intake
• Increased Potential for Profitability

How does your malpractice policy affect your CoI program or vice versa?  Please share in the comments section below.

Cori Blackburn
RION Corp.
224-277-3855
cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com

Conflicts Considerations When Updating Matters

There are a few reasons why updates to existing matters are necessary:

1. You have to add a new party to an existing matter.
2. You have to change a matter description.
3. You have to change the name of a party.
4. You have to reopen a closed matter.

Aside from correcting typos, RARELY would you do all of the above to an existing matter.  If you are updating an existing matter and asked to perform all of the above tasks, you most likely need to open a new matter.  

Pay careful attention to the description of a matter.  If you are asked to change the matter description from something like “Plaintiff vs. Defendant” to something like “New IP Matter Description” then this likely is an entirely new matter.  

You will also want to be careful when adding new parties or changing the name of existing parties.  Be sure to confirm that a new party is being added with the correct relationship and / or role, and determine why they were not originally listed on the conflict check form.  More importantly, if you are changing the name of an existing party to a different legal form (from Inc. to LLC, etc.), be sure to run a new search if the previous corporate family was not already searched.

Finally, when reopening matters, be sure that you’re not simply reopening a matter so that time can be billed for the same client but a different matter.  Due diligence is tricky and requires careful attention to every detail.

Please share your thoughts and any questions in the comments section below.

Ryan Vago
Founder & President
RION Corp.