Conflict of Interest Checklist

Record the practice area (litigation, transactional, family, immigration, IP, real estate) and the controlling jurisdiction. Conflict analysis is rule-of-professional-conduct-driven and varies by state — Texas's Rule 1.06 is not California's Rule 1.7, and the imputation rules under 1.10 also vary.

Capture the named client plus parents, subsidiaries, and material affiliates. For an entity client, ask the intake attorney for the org chart — running conflicts only on the named LLC misses the parent that the firm represented adverse to someone else last year.

Include the named opposing party plus parents, subsidiaries, insurers (in PI/coverage matters), guarantors, and co-defendants. In transactional work, list the counterparty plus any deal-team affiliates disclosed in the term sheet.

Material witnesses, retained experts, and key non-parties (lenders, escrow agents, prior counsel) all hit the conflicts database. A former-client expert who appears as the other side's witness is the kind of issue that surfaces here, not in deposition.

Run every name from the prior steps through the firm's conflicts tool — Clio Conflicts, IntApp Open, NetDocuments ConflictChex, or whatever the firm uses. Use phonetic and partial-match where the tool supports it; entity names with abbreviations and individual name variants are common miss vectors.

Rule 1.9 (former-client) duties survive matter close. Search closed-matter and archived records, not just active matters. Seven years matches most state retention minimums; firms with longer retention should search the full archive.

Rule 1.10 imputation reaches matters a lateral attorney worked at a prior firm. If anyone on the proposed team came in laterally, cross-check the matter against their disclosed prior-firm representations. Skipping this is a frequent path to a six-months-in disqualification motion.

For each hit, classify it: current-client conflict (1.7, directly adverse or material limitation), former-client conflict (1.9, substantially related matter), or imputed conflict (1.10, reached through a firm lawyer). The category drives whether waiver is available and what the waiver letter must say.

The responsible attorney makes the call: no conflict, waivable conflict (informed consent in writing under Rule 1.7(b)), or non-waivable (decline the matter). Record reasoning so the file shows the analysis, not just the conclusion.

Waiver under Rule 1.7(b) requires informed consent confirmed in writing — describe the conflict in concrete terms, identify the affected clients, explain the material risks, and name the reasonably available alternatives. A boilerplate waiver that doesn't disclose the actual adverse representation is not informed consent.

Every affected current and former client whose interests are implicated must sign. Send via DocuSign or comparable e-signature; retain the signed PDFs in the matter file. Do not open the matter on a verbal waiver — Rule 1.7(b)(4) requires writing.

Where Rule 1.10 imputation is screenable, lock the lateral out of the matter file in the DMS, exclude them from the email distribution, document the screen in writing, and (in most jurisdictions) provide notice to the former client. The screen has to be in place before the lateral has any access — retroactive screens don't cure imputation.

Managing partner (or designated conflicts partner) reviews the determination, the reasoning, and any waivers or screens before clearance. For non-waivable conflicts, the sign-off is the decline-and-document decision; for cleared matters, it's the green light to engagement letter.

Save the search outputs, hit analysis, waivers, and clearance signature to the matter file in NetDocuments, iManage, or the firm DMS. State bars audit conflict records on grievance — the file should show what was searched, what came back, and how it was resolved.

Notify the responsible attorney and intake specialist that conflicts are cleared so the engagement letter and retainer workflow can begin. Matter open in the PMS should remain blocked until this release fires — the most common gotcha is opening the billing matter before clearance.