Consent-to-joint-representation - Consent to Joint Representation and Waiver of Confidentiality

Sep 16, 2026

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Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles consent form for joint legal representation in a civil action, addressing potential conflicts of interest when one attorney represents multiple clients on the same side. It explains how conflicts may affect strategy, settlement decisions, and attorney withdrawal if clients cannot agree. The document also covers client confidentiality and attorney-client privilege, requiring each signatory to waive confidentiality protections between the jointly represented clients while preserving confidentiality toward other parties.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Purpose of This Document

Joint Representation

Client Confidentiality

Duty of Loyalty

Client Agreement to Joint Representation and Waiver of Confidentiality

LEGAL AID FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGELES CONSENT TO JOINT REPRESENTATION AND WAIVER OF CONFIDENTIALITY The terms of this Consent to Joint Representation and Waiver of Confidentiality (“Consent and Waiver”) are in addition to the terms of the attached retainer agreements of XXXXX and XXXXX, respectively, both dated XXXXXXX (the “Retainer Agreements”). 1. The Purpose of This Document a. Joint Representation You, the undersigned, XXXX and XXXX (“You”), have requested representation from the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (the “Attorney”) in a civil action involving XXXXXX. There may be potential conflicts of interest in the representation of more than one party in a case. This Consent and Waiver is to inform You of such potential conflicts of interest, and to obtain Your informed consent in writing. In the present matter, You have requested legal assistance with respect to XXXXX. You, seek to XXXXXX. When the same attorney represents two or more persons on the same side of a single lawsuit, areas of conflict may arise during the representation. For example, one client may want to settle the lawsuit and the other may not; the clients may have different goals, or strategies or defenses related to the legal problem, which may result in different instructions from the individual clients to the attorney regarding how the case should be handled, or how it should proceed. Attorney will represent both of You in this matter as long as there is no conflict as to how the lawsuit should proceed. This includes instructions or decisions related to settlement or resolution of the case. If one of You gives Attorney instructions that contradict instructions from the other of You, then Attorney will inform and advise each of You that an actual conflict has arisen. At that point, one or both of You may decide to seek the advice of another attorney, to try to resolve the conflict and agree upon joint instructions to Attorney, or to discontinue Attorney’s dual representation. If the two of You cannot come to an agreement as to how to resolve the conflict, Attorney will withdraw from representing both of You. That is, Attorney will withdraw and not represent either of You, and seek permission of the Court to do so, if Court permission is required. Attorney is willing to represent each of You in this matter, provided that each of You acknowledge the potential that a conflict of interest may arise, and consent to Attorney’s representation of each of You despite the potential for conflict. b. Client Confidentiality Under most circumstances, an attorney who represents a client is obligated to keep all communications with his or her client confidential. That is, the attorney cannot tell other people about the contents of his or her conversations with his or her client(s). This is called the “attorney-client privilege.” When an attorney represents more than one client in the same action, however, the attorney must be able to tell one client what the other client said with regard to matters related to the subject of the joint representation. For example, during settlement negotiations, the attorney must be able to tell one client what the other thinks about a particular settlement offer. Therefore, Attorney asks that each of You waive Your right to confidentiality as to the other of You in this matter. Your waiver concerns the confidentiality of communications to the other of You in this matter only, not as to any other persons, such as opposing parties or other third parties. c. Duty of Loyalty An attorney owes a duty of loyalty to his or her client. In a case of joint representation, this duty of loyalty is owed to each of the jointly represented clients. A conflict of interest may exist if Attorney’s loyalty to one of You causes Attorney to limit Attorney’s advocacy for the other one of You in any way with respect to this matter. In the event of such a conflict of interest, Attorney will notify You and discuss possible ways

FAQs

What is the purpose of this consent document?

It informs the client about potential conflicts that can arise during joint representation and obtains written informed consent.

How can a conflict of interest develop in joint representation?

Conflicting client goals or instructions may arise, such as differing views on settlement, leading to the attorney advising the clients and potentially withdrawing if agreement cannot be reached.

What does the confidentiality waiver cover?

The waiver applies only to confidentiality between the jointly represented clients in this matter and does not waive confidentiality as to other persons, such as opposing parties or third parties.

Sep 16, 2026

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