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This kind of mess is not uncommon. That's because it's hard for a lawyer or a law firm, when everything is going swimmingly, to take tough revenue-limiting decisions because of a theoretical concern or a remote possibility. and its controlling shareholder — who was the chief executive officer — at the same time? Their interests were differ- ent, weren't they? And was it okay for a senior partner in the law firm to be on the company's board of directors? Maybe, she thought, she just didn't get it; it was a question of experience, and she didn't have enough. She went to see the very senior partner and told him of her concerns. He wasn't impressed. "Think of it this way," he told her. "You're walking down the street, and there's a big building with many doors. But behind all those doors there's just one big room. It doesn't matter which door you go through, because, which- ever one you use, you'll end up in the same place." Offended by this shoddy, cynical, and self-serving analysis, the junior lawyer summoned up her courage and went to the firm's executive committee. It re- luctantly agreed with her view. The firm withdrew from representation of both the corporation and the majority share- holder, and the very senior partner, un- der protest, resigned from the board of directors. It won't surprise you to learn that it wasn't long before the young law- yer left the big firm and went to work for a small law office in the suburbs. In cir- cumstances such as these, virtue has to be its own reward. This kind of mess is not uncommon. That's because it's hard for a lawyer or a law firm, when everything is going swimmingly, to take tough revenue- limiting decisions because of a theo- retical concern or a remote possibility. No one was ever given a bigger share of partnership profits because he was holier that his partners when it came to conflicts of interest (or anything else). So the prevailing philosophy is very likely to have something to do with crossing bridges when you come to them. My young lawyer friend who told me her story was, of course, quite right that the same law firm should not rep- resent both a public corporation and a Crisis Litigation: The Role of the Lawyer International Bar Association confs@int-bar.org www.ibanet.org 30 M AY 2008 www. C ANADIAN mag.com