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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Ethics and Specialty Credits

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, November 5, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

  • An excellent opportunity to earn Ethics CLE credits. Note: BARBRI cannot guarantee that this course will be approved for ethics credits in all states. To confirm, please contact our CLE department at pdservice@barbri.com.


  • Live Online


    On Demand

$197.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CLE
ALL

This CLE course will provide practitioners with a framework to identify the most problematic and difficult to detect conflicts of interest and prohibited transactions. The panel will outline best practices for counsel to cope with conflicts and avoid prohibited transactions that could potentially result in disqualification, discipline, or even malpractice.

Faculty

Jennifer S. Bovitz
Shareholder and Associate General Counsel
Bassford Remele

Ms. Bovitz is a shareholder and trial lawyer who defends professionals in litigation, regulatory, and disciplinary matters. She is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who has served as a Managing Attorney at the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility and has also served the public as a prosecutor.

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Michael P. McDonald
Attorney
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Mr. McDonald primarily represents investment advisors and broker-dealers, providing regulatory counseling services to firms at all stages of their development. He specializes in providing legal and compliance support for investment advisors and broker-dealers to assist them in navigating financial services regulation, examinations and enforcement proceedings. To his practice, Mr. McDonald brings experience as an in-house counsel and senior compliance analyst at an RIA with approximately $80 billion in AUM, as well as in-house experience at a dually registered Broker-Dealer. He has also worked as a Regulatory Affairs Counsel at the Financial Services Institute and has spent time working with the Investment Adviser Association and the SEC's Divisions of Enforcement and Trading and Markets. Mr. McDonald has significant, hands-on experience managing compliance programs, including drafting regulatory filings, managing and monitoring a code of ethics, reviewing and approving marketing materials as well as responding to requests from clients and regulators. He has provided his insight to Financial Advisor IQ and his thought pieces on investment advisor and broker-dealer compliance have been published by Law360 and NYU’s Program on Corporate Compliance.”

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Description

Conflicts of interest are a daily concern for most practitioners. Potential conflicts come in many forms, impacting business transactions or engaging in prohibited transactions, representations of multiple individuals, interactions with current clients, and decisions to take on new clients, to name just a few. Attorneys should be aware of prohibited transactions and other various types of conflicts, how to waive those conflicts, and avoid issues stemming from conflicts and prohibited transactions.

Client consent can resolve many conflicts. However, the effectiveness of conflict waivers can vary, depending on the nature of the conflict, the timing of the waiver request, and whether the client is a current or former client. Conflicts must be anticipated and addressed in engagement letters.

Listen as our panel of attorneys experienced in ethics issues discusses how to identify potential conflicts and prohibited transaction issues and outlines best practices for avoiding or resolving those conflicts.

Outline

I. Identifying sources for potential conflicts of interest

A. Defining the client

B. Defining the adversity that triggers conflict rules

C. Adverse client conflict—direct adversity or adverse representation

D. Joint representation—dual or concurrent representation

E. Adversity to former clients

F. Personal conflicts of interest

II. Prohibited transactions

A. Applicable rules

B. Availability of waiver

III. Conflict resolution

A. Withdrawal from representation

B. Client consent

C. Conflict waivers

D. Engagement letters

E. Law firm conflicts checks

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What are some best practices for law firm conflict avoidance procedures?
  • Under what circumstances will a conflict prevent representation?
  • How can engagement letters effectively limit potential conflicts?
  • What critical language should be included in a conflicts waiver document?
  • What are the applicable rules governing prohibited transactions?
  • Under what circumstances are conflict waivers non-permissible?