Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio
Ethnical Behavior
My concerns are that once an attorney is appointed as Guardian ad Litem for a minor child, (the case involved an accusation against a parent (parent A), the case was closed when parent A relenquised custody of child to parent B) Is it unethical practice, for that attorney to be retained by parent A as legal counsel for purposes of reversing an order that they, parent A and parent B, had originally agreed with concerning the custody of their child.
1 Answer from Attorneys
guardian ad litem conflict of interest
Most likely this is a conflict of interest. The Code of Professional Responsibility sets the rules of conduct for attorneys. Although there is no specific rule prohibiting an attorney from representing an adverse party in a subsequent case, the law is still pretty clear that if to do so creates a conflict of interest with the former client, the attorney can't accept the employment.If this sounds a little technical, Ill try to simplify. From what you describe, the guardian has essentially hired on for the same case but now represents the other side.
I don't think the former guardian can ethically do that and you can contact your local bar association to file a complaint
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