How to run a conflict check at a small law firm
For education only. Not legal advice. Tellbrief is not a law firm.
A conflict check is a search of your firm’s records for every person and company in a new matter. It works best done before you hear the client’s story, and done the same way every time.
Collect the names before the story
The comment to ABA Model Rule 1.18, as Minnesota adopted it, says a lawyer deciding whether to take a new matter should “limit the initial consultation to only such information as reasonably appears necessary” for that decision.1 Asking for names first, and hearing the story once they clear, is one way to do that. Your state’s version of the rule is the one that applies, so check it.
Get every name that could matter
For a business matter that usually means the client, the company’s legal name, any trade names and earlier names, the owners and officers, and any parent or sister companies. Then the other side: the company, its owners and, if known, its lawyer. Add anyone else with a stake, like an investor, a lender, a landlord or a co-founder who has left. Ask the client to spell each one the way it appears on paper.
Search everyone you’ve dealt with
Current clients, former clients and the people who consulted you but never hired you. The parties on the other side of past matters. Each lawyer’s matters from a previous firm, if your firm keeps them. Search the people behind each company as well as the company, and try common spellings and abbreviations. “Northline Labs” and “Northline Laboratories LLC” should both turn up.
Treat a match as a reason to look closer
A match may be a shared surname or a similar company name, or it may be real. Decide in advance who looks at matches, and write that down. While a match is open, don’t take in more about the new matter.
Take real conflicts to whoever decides
Whether a conflict can be resolved with the clients’ consent, or rules out the matter, is a judgment under your state’s rules. Take it to whoever handles ethics questions at your firm, or to your state bar’s ethics hotline, where there is one, if you’re on your own.
Decline without saying why
If you can’t take the matter, tell the person you can’t help, without naming the other client or the reason. Say it promptly, so they can find another lawyer while any deadline still allows it. Putting it in writing gives you both a record.
Record what you did
The date, who ran the check, every name searched, any matches, who reviewed them and the result. Keep it with the matter, or with the declined inquiry if you turned it down. If anyone asks later how the matter was cleared, the record answers it.
Add the new names to your records
Add the prospective client and everyone on the other side, even if you decline. Next year’s check needs to find the person who called you this year.
Check again when the matter changes
A new party, a new investor, an acquisition, a lawyer joining your firm. Each one is a new set of names. Run them before you go further.
A spreadsheet can work
At a small firm, one shared list can be enough if every name goes in the same way and someone searches it every time. Practice management software can search faster and catch more spellings. Either way, keep one list, since a check is only as good as what it searches.
A checklist you can copy
- Collect: client, company and earlier names, owners and officers, related companies, the other side and its owners, anyone else with a stake. Names only.
- Search: current, former and prospective clients, past adverse parties, lawyers’ earlier matters. People behind companies. Spelling variants.
- Review: who looks at matches, written down. Nothing more taken in while a match is open.
- Decide: clear, decline or take it to whoever handles ethics questions.
- Record: date, who checked, names searched, matches, result.
- Add: every new name, even when you decline.
- Repeat: when a new party or lawyer joins the picture.
The names come from your intake. Law firm intake form template for business clients puts them first, and What to put in a consultation confirmation email shows how to ask for them when someone books.
Sources
Each quote was checked against its source on October 31, 2026. Laws and guidance can change after that date.
Questions
When should the conflict check happen?
Before you hear the details of the matter, where your firm’s process allows. Asking for names when someone books gives you time to run it before the call.
Whose names should we search?
Every person and company on both sides, their earlier names and the people behind each company, plus anyone else with a stake in the matter.
Is a spreadsheet enough?
It can be at a small firm, if every name goes in the same way and someone searches it every time. Practice software searches faster.
What if we find a possible conflict?
Stop taking in information about the matter and take the match to whoever handles ethics questions at your firm. Your state’s rules decide what happens next.
Try it on your next three first calls
Your first three briefs are free. Setup is one short call: you paste one line into your booking confirmation, and you see each client’s names before anything else.
For education only. This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it doesn’t make you anyone’s client. Tellbrief is not a law firm. For advice about your situation, talk to a licensed lawyer.