Conflict of interest: Court bars lawyer from acting against former client in the same case
A post-judgment application in a long-running land dispute has brought into sharp focus the strict ethical boundaries governing legal practice in Kenya, particularly the rule against conflict of interest.
A decision by the Environment and Land Court in Kilgoris to strike out a post-judgment application in a long-running land dispute has once again brought into sharp focus the strict ethical boundaries governing legal practice in Kenya, particularly the rule against conflict of interest.
At the heart of the ruling was a question that goes beyond procedure: can a lawyer who once acted for a client later participate in the same matter on the opposing side? The court’s answer, in a ruling, was a firm ‘no’.
