It is common for a group of people to want one attorney to represent them all in a legal matter. Whether it is a married couple looking for estate planning representation or if it is two people who own a property together and are both looking to evict a tenant or sell the property.
Attorneys can be expensive, so from an economic standpoint, it can be financially beneficial to have one attorney rather than paying two or more attorneys to work with you.
This may seem like a great idea, but for an attorney, it may cause some tricky ethical problems. Attorneys are inclined to zealously advocate for their clients. This can be difficult when there is more than one client involved. If the individuals that are being represented by one attorney, do not agree on the right way forward there can be issues. The individuals may even decide they want different things throughout the process.
In this scenario, you can expect the attorney to request to be allowed to withdraw as counsel because the attorney will not be able to take any action when it is against what one of the clients wants. If client “A” wants to dismiss the case, but client “B” wants to keep going, the attorney will not be able to do either action without going against one of their wishes and will need to withdraw.
Another issue for people considering joint representation is that the attorney-client privilege applies to the group of clients. That means if there is anything client “A” is trying to keep secret from the client “B”, the Attorney will be allowed to tell client “B.” Moreover, the attorney likely has to tell client “B” in order to protect client “B’s” interest in the matter.
If you are considering having one attorney represent you and another person or other people, be sure you have thought about what happens if you all disagree. You may save money if things go as planned. But, you may still have to hire a separate attorney to represent you, if complications arise between you and the other clients.
If you find yourself in this situation, please contact one of our experienced attorneys.