Also known as: related persons · related-person · related party
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An individual connected to a lawyer or client by blood, marriage, or a close familial relationship. The connection triggers conflict-of-interest prohibitions when a lawyer prepares an instrument conveying a substantial gift from the client to the lawyer or that individual.
Regina Robinson represents Rachel Ramirez in an environmental permitting matter. Rachel decides to deed a valuable parcel to Regina's first cousin, Riley Rivera, in gratitude for Riley's years of volunteer work on the land. Regina drafts the deed. Because Riley is related to Regina but not to Rachel, and the parcel constitutes a substantial gift, Regina violates the rule by preparing the instrument.
Attorney Paul Patel represents client Carla Chen in a real-estate closing. Carla decides to transfer a valuable vacation home to Paul's spouse as a substantial gift. Paul prepares the deed conveying the property. Because the spouse is a related person under the rule and is not related to Carla, Paul violates the prohibition by drafting the instrument.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A first cousin falls within the definition of related person because the rule expressly includes other relatives connected by blood or marriage. The prohibition therefore applies when a lawyer prepares an instrument giving a substantial gift to the cousin unless the cousin is also related to the client.
A close personal friendship does not satisfy the exception. The rule requires a close familial relationship comparable to the listed relatives, and volunteer work or long professional collaboration that produces warm friendship falls short of that standard.
No. The prohibition applies whenever the lawyer prepares the instrument giving a substantial gift to the lawyer or a related person, regardless of who first suggested the gift or whether the client appears fully informed.
…In contrast, the bad faith of a lessee implicates the sale price of certain gas, either for less than it was worth, or to a related party for an artificially low price. Thus, in determining whether a lessee acted in bad faith, the focus is on the sale price of the gas, and what a fair sale price would have been had the lessee…