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Watch Your Next Step - It Could Be a Doozy! Navigating Ethical Speedbumps: The Delicate and Perilous Exercise of Dual and Tripartite Representation of Motor Carriers, Drivers, and Insurers in Catastrophic MVA Situations, and Other Ethical Quandaries that Confront Our Practices

Catastrophic motor vehicle accidents result in a heartbreaking loss of life and limb.  They also involve high dollar, big ticket, complicated litigation.  For every truck involved, there is a driver operating that truck, and for every motor carrier involved, there is a commensurate insurance carrier.   So, the driver, motor carrier, and insurer are on the same side of the versus sign, in high risk litigation, and these situations are fraught with ethical minefields.  There are many reasons why the motor carrier would want its chosen counsel to represent it and its driver.  However, as investigation, fact-finding and research unfolds, dual representation may become just as perilous for the attorney, as the MVA.  This panel will discuss whether counsel at the outset can represent both the driver and the motor carrier, and also assess counsel's relationship with the insurer.  The panel will review a smorgasbord of ethics/conflicts issues that arise during the various stages of casualty, cargo, and contract litigation, for in-house counsel and for attorneys advising clients in multiple client situations.  It will also provide attorneys with ways to identify conflicts early on,  and also provide a best practices checklist for handling ethical considerations and conflicts as they arise, while preserving valuable client relationships.  Don't miss it!  Your practice, and your clients, will thank you.