Total Credits: 3 CLE, 3 Ethics
Conflict issues that may arise in your practice can be complicated and confusing. Our panel will present scenarios to explore conflict issues and provide guidance on how they can be avoided.
Our expert panel will address questions such as:
What types of conflicts arise when dealing with prospective clients?
May you represent a client adverse to another client, if the matters are wholly unrelated?
May you represent a criminal defendant when your former client is a prosecution witness?
When may you do business with a client?
What types of waivers do you need when representing co-plaintiffs?
What types of conflicts are non-waivable?
Chair:
Lynda Shely, The Shely Firm, PC*
Faculty:
Sarah Epperson, Ethics Counsel, State Bar of Arizona
Edward F. Novak, Polsinelli PC
Scott Rhodes, Spencer Fane, LLP
| Manual- 10 Deadly Sins of Conflict (2023) (6.5 MB) | 98 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Lynda C. Shely, is a shareholder in Klinedinst PC in Phoenix, Arizona, where she provides legal ethics and Alternative Business Structure (ABS) law firm regulatory advice to lawyers and law firms. She advises firms on all legal ethics topics including fees, conflict waivers, advertising, trust accounts, ethical use of technology, and staff supervision obligations. Lynda was the 2020 – 2023 chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, an Arizona Delegate in the ABA House of Delegates, and currently volunteers with several other nonbillable groups including as a member of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Alternative Business Structures Committee, the Arizona Supreme Court’s Steering Committee on AI and the Courts, the ABA Standing Committee on Professional Regulation, and the State Bar of Arizona Ethics Advisory Group. She is a past president of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, the National ABS Law Firm Association, and the Scottsdale Bar Association and has been an adjunct professor at all Arizona law schools, teaching professional responsibility. Previously she was the Director of Lawyer Ethics for the State Bar of Arizona and had her own solo practice for 21 years. Prior to moving to Arizona, Lynda was an attorney with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Washington, DC. Lynda received her BA from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA and her JD from Catholic University in Washington, DC. She has received several awards for her contributions to the legal profession including most recently the 2022 Maricopa County Bar Association Member of the Year Award, the 2023 Maricopa County Bar Hall of Fame, and the 2024 AWLA Sarah Herring Sorin Award.
is a shareholder at Polsinelli. At Polsinelli he practices in the Government Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense group. His litigation work has included civil cases including commercial lit matters and personal injury matters. Ed is a former State Bar president. He has taught ethics and professional responsibility at ASU and is the current chair of the Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. He co-chaired the Professionalism Task Force for the State Bar and was on the 2003 Ethical Rules Review Group which overhauled the ERs for Arizona.
Spencer Fane LLP. Scott regularly advises attorneys and law firms in matters relating to State Bar complaints, fee disputes, disciplinary matters, bar admission, and other licensing, ethics, and professional responsibility issues. Scott's extensive background in legal ethics has resulted in accolades and recognition by several professional organizations, including being named "2022 Lawyer of the Year" for Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law by The Best Lawyers in America©. In 2011, the Arizona Supreme Court appointed Mr. Rhodes to serve on its Attorney Regulation Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations regarding attorney examination, admissions, reinstatement, disability and the lawyer discipline process. He is the co-recipient of the State Bar of Arizona's 2010 Member of the Year Award, has served as Chair of the Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Arizona from 2009-2011, and was a member of the Arizona Supreme Court Attorney Discipline Task Force from 2009-2010.
Sarah Epperson is Ethics Counsel for the State Bar of Arizona, where she advises lawyers through the Ethics Hotline, presents ethics-related CLE programs, acts as legal advisor to the Fee Arbitration Program, serves on the Ethics Advisory Group, and acts as liaison to the Arizona Supreme Court's Attorney Ethics Advisory Committee. Sarah is an Arizona native who earned her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Arizona, summa cum laude, and her J.D. from the University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law. After earning her law degree, Sarah served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Virginia C. Kelly of the Arizona Court Of Appeals, Division II. Prior to assuming the role of Ethics Counsel, Sarah enjoyed a varied career in private practice, with experience in civil and commercial litigation, estate controversies, insurance defense, and civil appeals. She was honored as a Southwest Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2020 to 2022 and was listed with the Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in both 2021 and 2022. Sarah is admitted to practice in Arizona and the U.S. District Court for the State of Arizona and is a member of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, the American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility, and the Arizona Women Lawyers Association. When not in the office, Sarah can be found reading in the Arizona sunshine, planning her next international adventure, or cheering on the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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