Ethical Challenges In Commercial Law Practice: CPD Course Discussion
Commercial law can be a tricky space for zealous solicitors to navigate ethically, as it can often involve conflicting interests, lots of money at stake, highly confidential information, and a significant degree of social responsibility.
At Legalwise Seminars, we aim to provide valuable commercial law CPD courses that not only help solicitors remain up to speed with the latest developments in the space but also provide a platform for meaningful discussions and insights on the ethical challenges inherent to commercial law.
The aim is not just to check the CPD boxes but to facilitate meaningful development for those who attend, thereby helping to contribute to a more ethical and responsible legal community overall.
Here are two of the most common areas of ethical complexity that arise in commercial law:
Conflicts of Interest
In commercial law, conflicts of interest arise more often than you might expect. Therefore, commercial solicitors must be able to identify these quickly and address them without delay.
Conflicts of interest can arise when a firm has more than one client and the interests of two or more of these clients directly oppose each other, or when the personal interests of the solicitor or the firm itself conflict with those of the client. Conflicts of interest can also arise when your duties to a current client conflict with those owed to a former client.
Failure to recognise and address these conflicts of interest immediately can lead to various unpleasant consequences for both individual solicitors and entire firms. These might include severe reputation damage, legal malpractice claims, regulatory body disciplinary action, and the loss of valuable clients, to name a few.
Billing Practices
While billing might seem straightforward, it can quickly become a point of ethical concern, more often than people care to admit.
One of the most common ethical problems in billing is when solicitors overcharge for their services. This can take many forms, such as billing for unnecessary work, overstating billable hours, and failing to accurately disclose fees and expenses.
This kind of behaviour can go unquestioned for a long time. However, such unscrupulous billing behaviour can lead to trouble down the line, as a client will eventually come along who will question things and expose the unethical behaviour. Once this happens, the reputational damage alone can be severe, not to mention the potential legal consequences.
To gain the latest insights into commercial law ethics, sign up to attend one of Legalwise Seminars’ commercial law CPD courses now. Contact us today to get the ball rolling.
