A long-standing client wants me to bring a personal injury claim against someone I represented in a divorce fourteen years ago. Does Rule 1.9 let me take the case against my former client?

Plain-English summary

One of the inquiring attorney's long-standing clients sought representation in an automobile accident matter against a former client. The attorney had represented the former client fourteen years earlier in a divorce action, with no other representation since. The attorney asked whether he or she could represent the current client in the personal injury matter against the former client.

The Panel answered yes. It set out Rule 1.9 ("Conflict of Interest: Former Client"), which bars representing another person in the same or a substantially related matter materially adverse to a former client absent consent, and bars using information from the prior representation to the former client's disadvantage except as Rule 1.6 or Rule 3.3 allows. The Panel concluded that the attorney may represent the current client in the personal injury matter because the matters are not the same or substantially related to the former client's divorce action. It added that the attorney must remain mindful that he or she may not use any information relating to the representation to either client's disadvantage.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996 (Opinion 96-04, issued March 14, 1996), after the Rhode Island Supreme Court adopted the Model Rules of Professional Conduct effective November 15, 1988, and it applies Rule 1.9 as it stood at the time. The Rhode Island Supreme Court later revised the Rules of Professional Conduct in 2007 as part of the nationwide Ethics 2000 process, which amended these rules. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can I sue a former client I once handled a divorce for?

A: On these facts the Panel said yes, because a personal injury matter is not the same or substantially related to the former client's divorce action under Rule 1.9.

Q: Did the passage of fourteen years matter?

A: The Panel noted the fourteen-year gap and the absence of any later representation, but its holding turned on the lack of a substantial relationship between the divorce and the injury matter, not on time alone.

Q: Are there any limits on taking the new case?

A: Yes. The Panel cautioned that the attorney may not use any information relating to the prior representation to either client's disadvantage.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets Rhode Island Rule of Professional Conduct 1.9 (conflict of interest: former client), the analog of Model Rule 1.9. The dispositive question was the substantial-relationship test: because a personal injury claim shares no factual or legal nexus with an old divorce, the former-client bar did not apply, subject to the continuing duty not to misuse prior-representation information.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 1.9 / RI RPC 1.9 (conflict of interest: former client; substantial-relationship test)

See also

• RI EAP Opinion 94-74: a new firm may oppose its lawyers' old firm's former client under Rule 1.10
• RI EAP Opinion 2019-02: no conflict representing a buyer against a former corporate client where the matters are not related

Source

• Landing page: https://www.courts.ri.gov/attorney-resources/Pages/Ethics-Advisory-Panel-default.aspx
• Original PDF: https://www.courts.ri.gov/Opinions/EAP%2096-04.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

ETHICS ADVISORY PANEL
OPINION 96-04, - REQUEST # 653
ISSUED - MARCH 14, 1996

Facts:

One of the inquiring attorney's long-standing clients has sought legal representation for an automobile accident involving a former client. The inquiring attorney represented the former client fourteen years ago in a divorce action. There has been no other representation since.

Issues Presented:

May the inquiring attorney represent the current client in a personal injury matter against a former client.

Opinion:

Yes the personal injury matter is not "the same or substantially related to" the former client's divorce action.

Reasoning:

Rule 1.9 entitled "Conflict of Interest: Former Client" states the following: A lawyer who has formerly represented a client in a matter shall not thereafter:

(a) represent another person in the same or a substantially related matter in which that person's interests are materially adverse to the interests of the former client unless the former client consents after consultation; or

(b) use information relating to the representation to the disadvantage of the former client except as Rule 1.6 or Rule 3.3 would permit or require with respect to a client or when the information has become generally known.

According to the Rule, the inquiring attorney may represent the current client in the personal injury matter because the matters are not the same or substantially related to the former client's divorce action. The inquiring attorney must also be mindful that he/she may not use any information relating to the representation to either clients' disadvantage.