Conflicts of interest in dispute resolution
I have recently travelled from one end of the country to the other giving presentations and workshops on the subject of conflicts of interest. Most of the people I talked to were pretty clued up on what is and what is not a conflict. But there are some who, it would seem, wouldn't recognise a conflict if it came in wrapping paper with "I'm a conflict of interest" written all over it.
I use a series of PowerPoint slides which each desribe a different scenario. I ask the audience to discuss whether there is anything in a scenario that would give rise to a conflict of interest. One of my slides describes the following situation:
You are a lawyer in private practice. It's a small firm, just you, your partner and a part time PA.
It's Friday and it's the end of a quiet week. In fact business has been quiet for a few weeks now. Just as you are about to pack up and head down to the Dog and Duck pub to play darts and chill out over a beer with friends, a new client calls you and asks if you would act as an arbitrator in a dispute he has with one of his customers. He tells you the customer's name is Bob Summthink.
You immediately recognise Bob is your best mate. You went to school with Bob. You went to college with Bob. You went to Butlins with Bob and his parents every summer holiday from when you were 9 years old until you were 17.
Bob and you are joint owners of a holiday home in Mablethorpe. You were best man at Bob's wedding in July last year and you were Godfather at his son's christening in November (work it out for yourself).
You and Bob play golf every Saturday come rain or shine. You named your eldest son "Bob". As soon as you have finished with this client today you're off down to the pub for a game of darts and a pint with Bob. You check your watch to see if the pub is open yet and notice the inscription "Happy Birthday from your best mate, Bob".
Get this. I asked one particular audience of around 40 people (I won't say where it was) to put their hands up if they thought that, in these circumstances, there was a conflict of interest that would "prevent you from acting as arbitrator in your client's dispute with Bob Summthink"?
About 6 people raised their hands. Maybe the other 34 were just shy. What do think?