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Law Student Advocates And Conflicts Of Interest, Adrienne Thomas Mccoy

Washington Law Review

Law students who represent clients under attorney supervision are subject to no clear conflict of interest rules. Whether they are considered lawyers or nonlawyers for purposes of each state's ethics rules is uncertain. Available rules governing lawyer and nonlawyer conflicts of interest ignore the competing interests of legal education, law student employment, clients, and public service. This Comment proposes a student conflict of interest rule that balances these interests by (1) holding student advocates to high ethical standards and (2) allowing screening to cure most conflicts that occur within student representation and that would otherwise handicap students in future employment