can a grand father who is lawyer to represent his son in a legal family matter?

According to my understanding, as long as you are a licensed attorney you can represent whomever you want to, including family members. Our concern is that this will be a huge conflict of interest, being that the attorney is the children's grand-father and has deep emotional ties to the case.

Full Answer

Can a lawyer in the family represent a family member?

For many people, a lawyer in the family is often seen as a way to get free, or almost free, legal advice. But can a lawyer represent a family member in court, or outside? Should a lawyer represent a family member? The answer to the first question is a qualified yes.

Can a mother act as a lawyer for her son?

Not everyone, in fact, agrees that lawyers can’t act for their children. “It may not be wise to have the mother represent the son,” says author and lawyer Philip Slayton.

Can a mother represent her son in court?

Not everyone, in fact, agrees that lawyers can’t act for their children. “It may not be wise to have the mother represent the son,” says author and lawyer Philip Slayton. “But I don’t think it should be stopped unless there are egregious reasons for the court to interfere.”

Who can a lawyer represent himself in court?

The family members and the relatives are the topmost and most important people for which a lawyer can represent himself in court.

Can a lawyer represent a family member in India?

An advocate shall not practice in a court where he/she is related to the judge as father, grandfather, son, grandson, uncle, brother, nephew, first cousin, husband, wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, brother-in-law daughter-in-law or sister-in-law.

Can a lawyer represent his mother?

Should a lawyer represent a family member? The answer to the first question is a qualified yes. Courts do not typically intervene in allowing a family litigant to choose their lawyer, just as they generally don't interfere with litigants who represent themselves. However, there have been exceptions.

Can my lawyer represent me in court without me being there in India?

Even a law graduate cannot represent somebody else in any court of law unless he/she is registered as an advocate with any bar council of India. A non-lawyer can draft the petition and represent himself.

Can a mother represent her son in court?

Parents cannot, however, represent their minor children. A parent can be their child's named representative on court papers. They still cannot be their in-court representative.

Are lawyers allowed to represent family members?

Can a lawyer advise friends, family members and their spouse? Lawyers are allowed to advise friends, family members, spouses and other people with whom they are acquainted. A lawyer is not in a conflict of interest simply because the lawyer is representing a family member or a friend.

What would be a conflict of interest for an attorney?

A conflict of interest means a situation where your separate duties to act in the best interests of two or more clients in the same or a related matter conflict. For this situation to happen, you must be currently acting, or intending to, act for two or more clients.

Can a lawyer represent his father in court?

You can represent your father in the court if your father gives power of attorney to you to appear on his behalf. However, make sure that he appears in the court during his cross examination. The court will not allow anyone except your father for deposition for cross examination.

Who can represent you in court?

They could be someone who has a legal background, such as a solicitor's agent. If you do not attend court yourself, you can also be represented at a Small Claim by a barrister, a solicitor, a legal executive, or a solicitor's agent.

Can a family member represent you in court in India?

Family members can attend proceeding but cannot represent you. In case of memo of appearance also court can dispense presence but at stage of evidence you need to be present before court for your evidence. It can be filed without presence of. accused.

Can a lawyer represent you in court?

An attorney does not only represent their client in civil and criminal proceedings but can also be charged with the duty of drafting various documents such as wills, contracts, registering companies, trademarks and the transfer of immovable property.

What's the difference between attorney and lawyer?

Attorney vs Lawyer: Comparing Definitions Lawyers are people who have gone to law school and often may have taken and passed the bar exam. Attorney has French origins, and stems from a word meaning to act on the behalf of others. The term attorney is an abbreviated form of the formal title 'attorney at law'.

Can non lawyer appear in court?

While generally speaking only an Advocate can appear in court on behalf of another person (or that a person can represent his or her own case), in special circumstance, the court has a power to permit private person (who is not an Advocate) to appear before it in a particular case.

How about a potential conflict of interest?

Simon Chester, counsel for conflict and regulatory matters at Gowling WLG, says that “most regulators don’t actually prohibit acting for family members, although they insist that lawyers be competent and avoid negligence.” The Canadian Bar Association Code of Professional Conduct also deals with broad issues of real and perceived conflict of interest but doesn’t specify when a lawyer can represent a family member in court..

When might it be okay to represent family?

Chester says that if you are a specialist, and the work doesn’t involve family sensitivities, it’s probably okay. “For example, if a lawyer has a reputation in the community for dealing with driving while impaired cases, the fact that she is doing it for a relative is irrelevant.”

Advising a family member can be a risky business

So, when does representing family or friends become risky for a lawyer? For starters, a lawyer may not be insured to act on behalf of family members, even if the regulator’s rules don’t specifically prevent it.

Payment may be awkward

Taking on a family member or friend as a client can lead to some awkward moments regarding how a lawyer will be paid. The friend or family member may expect a “friends and family” discount and may not be prompt in paying whatever fee is negotiated, or not pay at all.

Other possible risks of having a family member as your lawyer

Someone intent on hiring a lawyer who happens to be a family member or friend should also consider its impact on the relationship.

It may be hard, but just say no

Strawczynski says the safest thing for a lawyer to do when asked by a family member is “to decline to act for family members by letting them know that you simply don’t act for family.” Many large firms have policies prohibiting their lawyers from acting on behalf of friends or relatives.

Some tips for dealing with family members who want legal advice

If you decide that you will take on legal work for a friend or family member, here are a few things to consider:

Why is family law so difficult?

Not because the law itself is hard, for the most part, it isn’t; but because the people are often in crisis and they bring that energy into your world. Many, many lawyers find it extremely difficult to practice in this area. They become burned out and dejected.

What are the preconditions for representing a family?

First, there can be no active conflicts between the family members. For example, the family can’t be fighting over who gets what from deceased relative’s estate or how to divvy up the lottery winnings.

What is a lawyer deemed to be?

Lawyers are deemed to be professionals who should present an objective and unbiased opinion on the case in question; with the involvement of a family member in the case, it will just rob of the lawyer the quality to act as how he/she is expected to.

What to consider when a lawyer doesn't have a conflict?

Another consideration, even if the lawyer doesn’t have a conflict and is able to maintain the appropriate emotional distance, is that the lawyer has to have the appropriate subject-matter expertise. Most of us are specialists.

Can a lawyer promise to hold a family member's information confidential?

And, because their is no confidentiality between multiple clients in a joint representation, the lawyer can’t promise to hold anything any one family members tells him/her confidential if it’s related to the representation. So, it can be done, but the lawyer has to be very careful. Sponsored by Gundry MD.

Can a family member be represented by the same lawyer?

Of course, if one of the family members caused the death of the decedent then that person could not be represented by the same lawyer as the rest of th. Continue Reading. Yes, if the family has no conflict of interest against each other . In the alternative the conflict, if it is a waivable one, can be waived.

Do you have to apply the same ethical/conflicts rules to guard against self-dealing or misuse of

You have to apply the same ethical/conflicts rules to guard against self-dealing or misuse of confidential information that you would with an unrelated client, but generally speaking, provided there is no conflict, there's nothing stopping a lawyer from representing a family member.

Can a Lawyer Represent a Relative in Court

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Nevada A friend of mine in Las Vegas, NV may be going through a bad custody battle with her ex-husband involving their two young children.

Re: Can a Lawyer Represent a Relative in Court

If there are no legal conflicts of interest, the mere fact of being related doesn't prevent a lawyer from representing a relative. But if there's emotional entanglement, or even if not, it's generally not a good idea.