Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California
What exactly constitutes a conflict of interest? For example, a board president submits bids to the rest of the board. No one on the board is even aware that the two even remotely know each other. Later, it is discovered that not only does the contractor and president know each other, but they also have strong ties to a small non-profit group and both served together on that committee for the past 15 years. I guess I'm not sure I understand how deep a friendship needs to be in order for it to constitute a conflict of interest. Is is reserved for family only, friends, business associates, etc?
2 Answers from Attorneys
A conflict of interest is one is which the person stands to gain some economic or other advantage in the other person winning the contract, being authorized to do the work, etc. It is not limited to relatives, friends, group members, etc. It is a somewhat vague concept, made fuzzier by some people having to merely avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
This is not an appropriate question for this category, unless the board president was an attorney. This category involves the legal issues governing the practice of licensed attorneys.
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