Legal Blog

Conflict of Interest

Marchant Realty Partners Inc. v. Milborne 2022 Ont SCJ

Without consent, a law firm cannot act for one client whose interests are adverse to a current client or a “near client”. Even if the old client is not a “near client”, a lawyer still cannot act against the old client if the law firm is able to use confidential information that it received from the old client. In this case, the individual was held to be a near client because he was sufficiently involved in or associated with corporations who were the lawyers’ current clients. Even if he were not, he had given confidential information to the lawyers in past retainers that would give the lawyers an advantage in the present guaranty and debt collection proceedings against him.

Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.