The two lawyers with a law firm can each agent the same lawsuit parties

June 27, 2006.

In the trial practice, often encounter two lawyers with a law firm, each entrusted to the same case, the defendant or the plaintiff, the plaintiff or the defendant third people, third people at the same time the procedure, whether to have two different views: one view, the same lawyer affairs two lawyers in the you can entrust their acceptance of plaintiff and defendant, the same case, also serves as an agent ad litem. The main reason is, "lawyer law" of the people's Republic of China stipulates that the thirty-fourth: "a lawyer shall not in the same case, for both parties to act as agent." A lawyer for the provisions of this article is limited to the same law firm in the same case as well as the parties of litigation agent, but not two lawyers are limited to the same law firms served as the agent ad litem, and our civil procedure law also did not make provisions. According to another view, two lawyers with a law firm shall not entrust their acceptance of the same case, the Central Plains, also serves as an agent ad litem.

The author thinks that the two views are wrong.

First, the revised November 26, 2001 ACLA "lawyer occupation ethics and disciplinary norms" twenty-eighth paragraph second: "the two sides the same law firms may not be the case of the parties, except in remote areas only a law firm." The prohibition of lawyer agency action the same law firm client, is one of the lawyer's occupation morals and discipline. The moral law is on the line, and the law is the lowest standard of morality, rising to the height of the morality and discipline as a lawyer in the course of performing their duties according to law shall abide by the rules of behavior, has the important practical significance and historical significance to the standard behavior of lawyers, to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the litigants.

Second, the lawyer must be considered a conflict of interest between the principal in the commission. To standardize the behavior of practicing lawyer since March 20, 2004 the implementation of the "(for Trial Implementation)" the seventy-sixth stipulation: "interest conflict refers to the conflict of interests between the matters entrusted with a law firm agent and the other matters entrusted by the client, to continue agent will directly affect the interests of the relevant circumstances." Article seventy-seventh also provides that: "in the Commission, lawyers and the law firms should be a conflict of interest. Not only the conflict of interests between the clients circumstances can establish principal-agent relationship." A lawyer should correctly handle two kinds of conflict of interest in practice: one is for lawyers to consider loyalty to the client, the lawyer entrusted to review whether there are people entrusted and between the conflict of interests, such as lawyers in the same case agent conflict interests, including a lawyer in the same a case in which the plaintiff and the defendant agent agent, two lawyers or the same law firm in the same case the plaintiff and defendant, respectively. Another is for lawyers to protect secret information entrust consideration, lawyers to review whether there is a conflict of interest by continuity between people, such as lawyers cannot agency in the first instance of the plaintiff and the defendant, the agent in the appeal. Because the secret information of the plaintiff's lawyer might be the original for service as a defendant in the appeal, the interests of the plaintiff therefore damage. According to the analysis, the first view to understand the "Lawyers Law" in article thirty-fourth, the provisions of this Law and the first "normative acts of lawyers, the purpose of legislation to protect the rights of the parties" does not match.

The second views of the absolute prohibition of the same law firm lawyers with a case of the parties also some one-sided, but also do not meet the conditions of Chinese. The absolute prohibition of the practice, which is not conducive to the development of firm, also restrict the parties choose of lawyers. "The lawyer occupation ethics and disciplinary norms" twenty-eighth paragraph second according to the legal quality of Chinese lawyers and the parties present situation, in order to give the parties provide litigation legal help, provides an exceptional case, namely the remote area only a law firm, the two lawyers in the can for the same a case of the parties act as agent ad litem. This is a matter of expediency.

The author argues that, in principle the two lawyers with the same procedure shall not represent a party to the case, except for the case has two kinds: one kind is there are no conflicts of interest between the principal; the other is the consent of both parties. If there is a conflict of interest between the client, lawyers must be verified in the Commission, the court also should be in accordance with the terms of the review, especially to solicit the views of the parties.

                                                    Author: (Nanning City Intermediate People's courtJiang Xianzheng.