Advisory Opinion:
1581
Year Issued:
1994
RPC(s):
RPC 1.11
Subject:
Successive government and private employment
The Committee discussed your inquiry concerning conflict of interest issues raised by your representation of [an Indian Tribe] in matters related to the regulation of utilities on the Reservation, when you had previously been employed as an attorney for [a federal agency]. In your capacity as counsel to the [federal agency], you had been involved in negotiating a settlement of a dispute between [a county] and the Tribe regarding the Tribe's grant [from the federal agency].
It was the Committee's opinion that RPC 1.11(a) does apply in this case and must be satisfied. Affirmative consent of the [federal agency] to your representation of the Tribe is therefore required. The requirement for affirmative consent from the [agency] might be satisfied by an express statute or by an express authorization by an appropriate government authority. The criminal statute you cite does not satisfy the requirement for affirmative consent; it merely set limits for criminal conduct as a prohibition.
You appear to have received affirmative consent from the [federal agency] for the current scope of your representation of the Tribe in this case and therefore appear to have satisfied RPC 1.11 as to the current scope of representation. If you change the scope of your representation of the Tribe in matters related to the wastewater treatment grant, or in other matters in which you participated personally and substantially as a [government] employee, RPC 1.11 requires you to obtain the [federal agency's] affirmative consent as to that different scope of representation. Additionally, you should inform your client of the requirements of RPC 1.11 and 1.7 (b).
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