What risk arises if a conflict of interest is not disclosed to a client?

• A. If a conflict is not disclosed, there is no risk if both clients sign consent.
• B. There is only reputational risk.
• C. Failure to disclose a conflict of interest creates risks of confidentiality breach and malpractice.
• D. Conflicts cannot be waived.

Answer: (C)

Not disclosing a conflict of interest undermines the lawyer’s duty of loyalty and the obligation to protect each client’s confidential information. When a conflict exists, clients deserve to know how it might affect the representation and to decide whether to proceed, perhaps with safeguards or with separate counsel. If the conflict isn’t disclosed, confidential information from one client could be improperly used or shared in a way that harms another client, and the lawyer may not be able to represent each client with undivided loyalty. That combination—risk to confidentiality and risk of misrepresentation or malpractice—creates real legal and ethical exposure for the practitioner. Even if clients sign consent, that does not automatically eliminate these risks, and some conflicts cannot be fully waived.