CALIFORNIA FAMILY LAW
...Procedure Before Trial/Hearing
......Conflicts of Interest
.........General Rule
9 Cards On This Topic:

Trial court has inherent power to control proceedings and persons appearing before it.

Representing adverse interests; disclosure and consent.

As juvenile court applied wrong legal standards re motion to disqualify C's atty, reconsideration appropriate.

Duty of loyalty is the proper focus in concurrent representation cases; duty of confidentiality is the proper focus in successive representation cases.

Law firm must be disqualified when it associates lawyer who formerly obtained confidential info from opposing party, even w/o evidence confidential information was shared between firm and associated counsel.

Under substantial relationship test, trial ct. should have granted motion to disqualify attorney who formerly represented adverse party.

If attorney's former representation is "substantially related" to current representation, knowledge of confidential information is presumed and disqualification required.

Absent showing of "substantial relationship," courts are reluctant to disqualify a party's chosen counsel; burden is on party claiming conflict. Waiting until eve of trial is tactical abuse.

Right to be represented by attorney of choice ought not be abrogated absent injury to integrity of judicial process or unfair prejudice to adverse party by use of confidential information.