Bond Counsel Conflicts

The Oklahoma Bar Association Legal Ethics Advisory Panel affirmed an opinion holding that a lawyer may not advise both a state agency that issues bonds and a local governmental entity regarding borrowing funds generated by the same bond issue. The opinion looks to Rules 1.7(b) and 1.8(b) of the Oklahoma Rules of Professsional Conduct in concluding that the risk of significant conflicts outweighs any potential benefit of joint representation. (Mike Frisch)