If both cases are running concurrently, where neither has been decided one way or the other, I would consider it a conflict of interest because if you retained him before your husband, he and his firm owe you a loyalty not to represent your ex because his interests are adverse to yours. If I, for instance, were your attorney I'd welcome the arrest because the child was there. It makes your case (which one can assume is that you want custody of the child) stronger. Defending him might be adverse to your case if he gets him off. There is one caveat, however, the lawyer could barter a deal where you get your way as a condition for the attorney's service. In other words, your ex doesn't fight the custody and your ex gets better representation than a public defender. You should honestly discuss the circumstances before you go any further.

Legally YES he can, its all about the franklin's. There is no conflict of interest whereas he is representing him in a criminal issue, and he represented you in the other civil matter. The only way he would be locked in would be if you and the attorney had a long standing retainer in place that states he won't represent anyone that stands in conflict of interest with you. And I would have to say that would be rare, Money is what its all about. I hope this helps? Good luck.

No, your lawyer can't represent your ex-husband during the same time that he is representing you. He could lose his license for doing this. This is a direct conflict of interest and if I were you, I'd report him to the State Bar Association. It doesn't matter if it's a different case or not. The law is the law.

I am an attorney. While it's flattering when an opposing party wants me to represent them because they don't like how the case came out against them where I represented the ex, and they think now they will be on the winning side with my help, it's strictly not happening. I can't represent an opposing party for any case by rule. I wouldn't do it by agreement even. Use the old adage, if it smells bad, stay away.

The ethics rules for conflicts of interest are somewhat different depending on the state. Generally, a lawyer should not accept this type of representation because it is foreseeable that he may obtain privileged information from your spouse that he could not legally divulge. Because he would have a duty to zealously represent you, he could not withhold the information which would create a conflict and he would have to cease representing both parties. Also, it just looks bad.