Representing someone who is in a position adverse to a prior client is which type of conflict?

• A. Potential conflict
• B. Concurrent conflict of interest
• C. Confidentiality
• D. Successive conflict of interest

Answer: (D)

The main idea is a successive conflict of interest. When a lawyer has previously represented one client and then represents another client whose interests are directly adverse to the former client in a related matter, the conflict stems from the sequence of representations. The lawyer may have access to confidential information from the prior representation and owes loyalty to that former client, creating a risk that cannot be safely managed in a subsequent case. This differs from a concurrent conflict (representing two current clients with opposing interests at the same time) and from issues about confidentiality alone.