A some ways to avoid a conflict of interest in the professional activity of a lawyer

It is indicated that, despite the multifaceted types of professional activities of a lawyer and the possibility of the existence of various situations that would indicate a conflict of interest in the aspect of carrying out legal activities, the most common cases of the existence of such conflicts are the representation of two clients whose interests are contradictory. This article is devoted to the theoretical and applied research of the essence of conflicts of interests in the professional activity of a lawyer, primarily through the prism of revealing possible ways to avoid and prevent such conflicts of interests. The article reveals various positions of scientists regarding the possibility of providing professional legal assistance in conditions of real or potential conflict of interests. The experience of foreign countries regarding exceptions to the general ban on representation of clients’ interests in the presence of a conflict of interests was also analyzed within the scope of this study. The position is argued, according to which, in the absence of the lawyer’s client’s consent to such representation, or if the lawyer realizes that he will not be able to properly provide legal assistance on the basis of absolute independence to each of the clients (provided there is a conflict of interest between them), the lawyer must refuse from accepting the assignment, and on the condition that he already provides such assistance, to stop its implementation. The focus is on the essence of the consent (agreement) of the clients and the lawyer regarding the provision of legal assistance under such conditions. It is concluded that the representation of the interests of clients by a lawyer, provided there is a conflict of interest or a potential risk of its occurrence, is possible only on the condition of the voluntary consent of all clients who may be affected by such a conflict of interests and on the condition that the lawyer in the context of carrying out his professional activity can to eliminate the negative consequences of carrying out such activities. In this article, both general scientific methods (analysis and synthesis) and methods specific to legal science have gained significant application. The research itself was carried out using, in particular, the formal-dogmatic method and the comparative-legal method.