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An up-and-coming, innovative firm that does things differently. Blue Ocean takes an interdisciplinary approach to its personal + commercial law practice to ensure you’re getting what you + your company needs. It has a growing list of [200+] automated 24/7 personal + business legal documents with Embedded Lawyer-Logic™ …
It is our standard practice to conduct a Conflict of Interest Check for all Blue Ocean Law Group's potential new Legal Tasks/Matters for both existing and new Clients.
We also conduct additional limited scope Conflict of Interest Checks when in the middle of an Existing Legal Matter when:
✅ Material Client Details change (For Example: A Merger or Change of Control for a Company, Spouse/De Facto Partner, etc.); +/or
In Disputes +/or Litigation Matters when:
✅ When A New Party is joined to the Dispute/Legal Proceedings;
✅ Cross-Claims are filed against a 3rd Party;
✅ A Subpoena is issued on a 3rd Party;
For California Disputes +/or Litigation Matters additional triggers include when:
✅ A "John Doe" Defendant is identified; or
✅ A 3rd Party is Added by way of Impleader.
Blue Ocean Law Group provide our Clients with the following Conflict Check Options:
1️⃣ Complete this online process any time 24/7;
2️⃣ Contact us to provide the required information via email or verbally; or
3️⃣ Download the PDF Guide (in the RESOURCES section below) or Brochure, complete and email us a copy.
The information we collect from you about your Legal Task/Matter forms the basis of a Conflict of Interest search in Blue Ocean Law Group's legal practice database.
Before accepting detailed information +/or documents or opening a new legal matter file, the information you provide via this Conflict Check will also be circulated to all lawyers and support staff in our law practice.
Our duty of loyalty to you as our existing or potentially new Client means that Blue Ocean Law Group cannot allow our own interests, or those of another existing or former Client from conflicting with your interests.
We generally cannot act for you in your Legal Task/Matter if we have previously provided legal advice or assistance (former Client in a substantially related matter) or are currently acting for (matter adverse to a current Client) the other party or parties in your legal dispute, unless it is a situation where we have first obtained fully informed written waivers of the Conflict of Interest from all concerned parties.
In the haste to pass conflicts and proceed to open a new matter some non-obvious Conflicts of Interest maybe overlooked.
Our Conflict of Interest Check process attempts to capture the following non-obvious Conflicts so they can be effectively managed:
⚖️ Parties may have aliases or preferred nicknames;
⚖️ Parties may have alternative trading business names;
⚖️ A Party may be acting as the trustee of a Trust;
⚖️ Ultimate Beneficiaries of a Trust may be conflicted;
⚖️ A company party may have an ultimate parent company;
⚖️ Opposing parties in the same matter may be insured by the same insurance company;
⚖️ The Opposing party may have engaged our Client's former lawyer;
⚖️ A Party may be conflicted by a former or current interest in a specific Property;
⚖️ In addition to Directors and Ultimate Beneficial Shareholders, a company party may have C-Suite Executive Officers who could be conflicted.
The Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules identify the following potential Conflicts of Interest:
⚖️ Conflicts concerning a Solicitors duty to the Court and the Administration of Justice (Rule 3);
⚖️ Conflicts concerning former Clients (Rule 10);
⚖️ Conflicts concerning current Clients (Rule 11); and
⚖️ Conflicts concerning a Solicitor's own interests (Rule 12).
1️⃣ The representation is directly adverse to another Client's interests (actual COI);
2️⃣ There is a significant risk that the representation of the Client will be materially limited by the Attorney/Lawyer's responsibilities to another Client or former Client or the personal interest/s of the Attorney/Lawyer (potential COI); or
3️⃣ [CA] An Attorney/Lawyer has a legal, business, financial, professional or a personal relationship with a party or a witness in the same matter UNLESS
[ABA & CA] The Attorney/Lawyer obtains informed written consent (IWC) from the Client/s + [ABA only] the Attorney/Lawyer reasonably believes they can competently and diligently represent the Client/s.
Where [ABA] means the American Bar Association Model Rules and [CA] means the California Rules of Professional Conduct.
One Attorney/Lawyer's COI disqualifies the entire law firm UNLESS it is
1️⃣ Due to the Attorney/Lawyer's personal interest;
2️⃣ The Attorney/Lawyer is screened from participation in the subject matter of former representation by a Chinese wall, given no legal fee, and the former Client is notified in writing; or
3️⃣ The Attorney/Lawyer is leaving the law firm.
If the relationship with the former Client will "Substantially Effect" the relationship with the new Client, you MUST give written disclosure to the new Client.
"Substantially Effect": This means, where laws or facts overlap or to break the confidences of one Client, would hurt that Client to help another Client.
The California Rules of Professional Conduct identify the following potential Conflicts of Interest:
⚖️ Conflicts concerning former Clients (Rule 1.9);
⚖️ Conflicts concerning current Clients (Rule 1.7);
⚖️ Special Conflicts of Interest for Former and Current Government Officials and Employees (Rule 1.11);
⚖️ Conflict as a results of Attorney being a Former Judge, Arbitrator, Mediator, Or Other Third-Party Neutral (Rule 1.12);
⚖️ Conflicts concerning a Business Transactions with a Client and Pecuniary Interests Adverse to a Client (Rule 1.8.1);
⚖️ Compensation from One Other Than Client (Rule 1.8.6); and
⚖️ Imputation of certain Conflicts concerning an Attorney to all Attorneys at their Law Firm (Rule 1.10 and 1.8.11).
In an abundance of caution Blue Ocean Law Group maintain our standard practice to conduct a Conflict of Interest Check for all new legal matters.
In California, some Conflicts of Interest are incapable of being waived by the Client/Clients.
❌ Category I: Informed Consent Cannot Be Obtained Because:
(1) Confidentiality Duties Preclude Disclosure; or
(2) Client Lacks Capacity to Consent.
❌ Category II: Although Lawyer Can Make an Adequate Disclosure and Client is Willing to Agree, Conflicted Representation is Precluded Because:
(1) Competent Representation Cannot Be Provided To Both Clients;
(2) Representation Is Prohibited By Law; or
(3) Adverse Interests Of Clients Are Advanced In The Same Matter Before A Tribunal.
In an abundance of caution Blue Ocean Law Group maintain our standard practice to conduct a Conflict of Interest Check for all new New Zealand legal matters.
Blue Ocean Law Group has developed a Lawyer Professional Responsibility Checklist for California.
In a future version this checklist is intended to be updated to extend coverage to include lawyer professional responsibility checklists for Australia and New Zealand.
This Client ➲ Conflict of Interest Check has been designed and developed with care 👨💻 by James D. Ford Esq., GAICD CIPP/US | ⚖️ Principal Solicitor of Blue Ocean Law Group.
© 2023. Blue Ocean Law Group℠.
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The following has been extracted from NewLaw Fundamentals Q&A by Anusia Gillespie on August 4, 2021:
NewLaw is a mindset. It is a movement. NewLaw’s enemy is the adage: “because that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
Whether coined by Eric Chin, see Post 242, or Jordan Furlong, see Furlong, “An Incomplete Inventory of New Law,” Law21, May 13, 2014, the original definition circa 2013 was: “any model, process, or tool that represents a significantly different approach to the creation or provision of legal services than what the legal profession traditionally has employed.”…
The concept has evolved to focus on the source of true power and change in the profession – people. Models, processes, and tools fail if not created, or at least embraced, by the people who power the legal system. NewLaw fails without open and informed minds. The form of output, whether a new business model, regulation, or legal technology, is secondary. In fact, strike the first part of the 2013 definition and we capture this nuance for today’s understanding.
NewLaw: A significantly different approach to the creation or provision of legal services than what the legal profession traditionally has employed.
Since the term NewLaw was coined in 2013, alongside true NewLaw Firms there has been a continuous procession of traditional law firms rebadging themselves to claim they are a NewLaw firm.
This begs the question: What is a true NewLaw Firm?
To help answer this question, the following has been extracted from the article "What is a True NewLaw Firm?" by Rebecca Lim | December 7, 2016
In an age of disruption, BigLaw or traditional large law firms face increasing competition from rapidly evolving NewLaw providers. But what does NewLaw actually mean, and how do these firms differ from their more traditional competitors?
Whilst the legal profession was for decades conservative + resistant to using new or "disruptive" technologies, it seems as if all at once, a lightbulb was turned on, and the buzz and potential of #legaltech or put more simply, the use of technology to more efficiently + effectively deliver legal services has been ushered in a new era of exciting fast paced change in the legal profession.
My personal observation is that whilst there has been adoption of #legaltech by traditional law firms, this has been mainly done behind the scenes where clients do not see what is happening.
Adopting new technologies in this way does not represent a significant culture change for traditional law firms.
What they are doing is low-risk.
If something goes wrong, they can step in and rectify the problem without the client ever knowing there was a problem.
If they are successful in making incremental improvements, in the end it doesn't change a great deal.
In my opinion, traditional law firms are still going about the business of law in the same way they have in the past.
One of the Red Ocean Traps: The mental models that undermine market-creating strategies is to confuse technology innovation with market-creating strategies.
Using the latest technology alone does not change traditional culture, structures and thought processes.
To differentiate a true NewLaw Firm we need to see evidence of changed thinking, and with that changed culture, rather then simple window-dressing and wordsmithing.
Blue Ocean Strategy® represents a change in mindset that is in total alignment with the updated concept of #NewLaw as a mindset.
Blue Ocean Strategy ® offers a strategic framework to help break free of traditional legal profession thinking ....
In a nutshell, we think differently, therefore we have created unique offerings which align with our vision for the future of the Legal Profession.
For a deep dive into what this will continue to entail please read my article: Charting the future of the Legal Profession: A Blue Ocean Perspective.
Credits:
This FAQ was created by James D. Ford GAICD | Principal Solicitor, Blue Ocean Law Group℠.
Important Notice:
This FAQ is intended for general interest + information only.
It is not legal advice, nor should it be relied upon or used as such.
We recommend you always consult a lawyer for legal advice specifically tailored to your needs & circumstances.
Any trust that purports or attempts to last for a longer period is void.
An exception exists for Charitable Trusts created with charitable objects or purposes which can endure forever.
Notes: ^ s62. of the Law of Property Act 1936 (SA) may be used by prescribed interested parties to apply to the Court for orders forcing the South Australian Trust to vest within 80 years.
Credits:
This FAQ was written by James D. Ford GAICD | Principal Solicitor, Blue Ocean Law Group℠.
Important Notice:
This FAQ is intended for general interest + information only.
It is not legal advice, nor should it be relied upon or used as such.
We recommend you always consult a lawyer for legal advice specifically tailored to your needs & circumstances.
We strongly encourage all our new clients to access and step through our free online automated [Self-Service] Client Cyber Alert Letter.
This free educational process can be completed in your own time, from anywhere, even from your mobile phone (if required).
If you are interrupted for any reason, you can save your work and will be sent a link to resume the process when convenient.
For the Client Cyber Alert Letter to be effective we urge you to please complete the process before you or anyone else (on your instructions/behalf) send or receive any funds to/from our law firm.
As this is an interactive process there is an increased liklihood that you will learn more regarding what steps you can take to protect yourself from Cyber Fraud.
Completing our Client Cyber Alert Letter process will also introduce you to a free example of how our online automated Self-Service legal documents are generated.
If you have any questions, please contact our legal team for assistance.
As part of the process we recommend you download and read the "Together we can help prevent Cyber Fraud" brochure created by the NSW Law Society and LawCover.
Blue Ocean Law Group are constantly monitoring our cyber security policies to ensure that both we and our clients remain cyber safe.
We need your help to ensure that your information and funds remain secure.
Credits:
This FAQ was created by James D. Ford GAICD | Principal Solicitor, Blue Ocean Law Group℠.
Important Notice:
This FAQ is intended for general interest + information only.
It is not legal advice, nor should it be relied upon or used as such.
We recommend you always consult a lawyer for legal advice specifically tailored to your needs & circumstances.
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