Conflicts of Interest Under the Revised \u3ci\u3eModel Rules\u3c/i\u3e

This article sets out the existing Nebraska law of multiple client conflicts for the purpose of comparing it with the revised Model Rules of Professional Conduct, approved by the ABA House of Delegates in 2002. The new version of the Model Rules is the result of several years of work by the so-called Ethics 2000 Commission, composed of prominent lawyers, judges, and academics. It preserves the structure and much of the language of the 1983 version of the Model Rules, which differed dramatically from the predecessor Model Code of Professional Responsibility. Because Nebraska has not adopted the Model Rules, it is one generation behind other jurisdictions considering the Ethics 2000 modifications. At least in the area of conflicts, however, the differences between existing Nebraska law and the Ethics 2000 version of the Model Rules are not that stark. In fact, the results of most of the reported Nebraska conflicts cases can be fitted comfortably within the analytical framework of the new Model Rules. There is nothing radical about the new rules in the area of conflicts. As time goes on, the dominance of the Model Rules will only increase. Thus, lawyers faced with an uncertain conflicts situation will find it more difficult to find guidance in the law if Nebraska retains its Model Code-based disciplinary rules