Woman’s Lawyer Brother-In-Law Decides to Represent Her Ex-husband in Divorce, Advises Her to 'Stay Married'

I think it's safe to assume that offering legal representation to a member of your family who is divorcing another member of your family is a pretty obvious conflict of interest. That didn't stop u/redpanda891's brother-in-law, who thought it would be just fine to take her ex-husband on as a client. Not only that, but he had the nerve to advise her to stay married to avoid "losing a lot" in the divorce.

Posted by Mel Dawn

“AITA for calling my sister’s husband a piece of shit because he’s representing my ex in our divorce?” Posted by u/redpanda891

The comment section

Most redditors in the comment section were nearly as indignant as OP. Many suggested that, depending on where OP lives, there's some glaring conflict of interest at play that could be enough to legally remove her brother-in-law from the case.

“I can’t stop thinking about that dinner. Wouldn’t his suggestion that she ‘stay married because she could lose a lot in the divorce’ count as legal advice?This just feels super unethical and sleazy.” said u/veni_vidi_dixi.

“And I would consider that a very generous interpretation, is actually sounds like a threat.” said u/IchfindkeinenNamen.

“Yeah, I took it as a threat that BIL was going to make sure she lost as much as possible from his lawyer abilities.” said u/crujones33.

“At which point, why is anyone surprised that OP blew up at him and called him some expletives? It would have been far more ethical for him to remain uninvolved here, particularly since the ex is going to be gone and BIL would still have to see OP at family events, as long as he remains married to OP's sister. If he cared about having peace in the family, he backed the wrong horse.” said u/Either_Coconut.

“I would tell my lawyer and see what options there are.” said u/poppgoestheweasel.

“Yeah In America that wouldn't fly. That would be on par of two entities hiring the same company to represent them in a lawsuit against one another” said u/ZentheOgre.

“Plus if she is represented he's also most likely violating ethics rules by having conversations with her about the case without her counsel present.” said u/ProfessionallyJudgy.

“YES, absolutely. He definitely is.” said u/hellokitty1939.

“Oh I would turn him in to the bar for that.” said u/gwgos1.

“Not yet. I’ve been looking for one but I haven’t found anybody I like and I’ve been having cold feet about getting a divorce.” said OP.

“I don't know where you're at. But I would let the proceeding judge know about the conflicts of interest. He should not be allowed to represent your ex because he's married to your sister.” said u/jaysin1701.

Read the original thread here.