Informal Opinion Number: 970144

QUESTION: Attorney is City Attorney and is currently employing a law student as an intern on a part-time basis. The intern also works for a private attorney who appears in municipal court. In the City Attorney´s office, the intern is not allowed to deal with any cases involving the private attorney. May the intern be employed in such a manner without there being a conflict? ANSWER: It would be a conflict of interest for a law student intern to be employed in the City Attorney´s office while at the same time working for a firm in which some members are representing defendants in municipal court or otherwise opposing the city in pending litigation. Screening is not an option. If Attorney employed an intern in these circumstances, Attorney would violate Rule 4-5.3.

Informal Opinions are ethics advisory opinions issued by the Office of Legal Ethics Counsel to members of the Bar about Rule 4 (Rules of Professional Conduct), Rule 5 (Complaints and Proceedings Thereon), and Rule 6 (Fees to Practice Law) pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 5.30(c). Written summaries of select Informal Opinions are published for informational purposes as determined by the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri pursuant to Rule 5.30(c). Informal opinion summaries are advisory in nature and are not binding. These opinions are published as an educational service and do not constitute legal advice.

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