“Sexually Charged”

A Grievance Committee of the North Carolina State Bar reprimanded an attorney for a conflict of interest

From about February 2021 to January 2022, you represented client J.P in a civil matter and an unrelated criminal charge. While representing J.P. you sent J.P. romantic and sexually charged text messages, photographs, and videos. However, Rule 1.19 did not specifically prohibit such communications until November 2022, after your representation ended. Nonetheless, as noted in Comment 1 to revised Rule 1.19, sending romantic and sexually charged communications to a client is damaging to the client-lawyer relationship and has always created “an impermissible conflict of interest that cannot be ameliorated by the consent of the client” in violation of Rule 1.7(a)(2). Thus, by engaging in unacceptable and unprofessional romantic and sexually charged communications with your client you engaged in a concurrent conflict of interest in violation of Rule 1.7(a)(2).

(Mike Frisch)