What Is a Conflicts Check?

Before any Inhouse attorney takes on a matter, we run a conflicts check. This confirms that neither the attorney nor Inhouse already has a relationship — with a person, a business, or an opposing party — that would make it improper for us to represent you.

Inhouse works with both businesses seeking legal help and licensed attorneys who use Inhouse in their own practice. Because of that two-sided setup, a conflicts check looks at more than just "have we worked with the other side before" — it also checks whether an attorney on Inhouse might represent, or have represented, someone on the other side of your matter.

Every check ends in one of two outcomes: cleared, meaning no conflict was found and your matter can proceed, or potential conflict, meaning something needs a closer look from a member of our team before any work begins. We intentionally err on the side of flagging anything arguable rather than risk missing a real conflict.

Conflicts checks exist to protect you, not just to satisfy a rule. A few reasons this matters:

• It's an ethical obligation, not a courtesy. Attorney conduct rules require lawyers to screen for conflicts before taking on a matter, and Inhouse holds every attorney on the platform to that standard.
• It protects your confidential information. If an attorney already holds confidential information from someone adverse to you, they legally cannot represent you well — checking first prevents that from ever happening.
• It accounts for how Inhouse is built. Because Inhouse serves both businesses and the attorneys who use Inhouse in their own practice, an attorney who represents you — or has represented you — could also be using Inhouse for unrelated work of their own. The check keeps those relationships separate.
• It protects the integrity of the advice you get. A conflict of interest can compromise an attorney's judgment even unintentionally. Screening up front means the advice you receive is not divided in its loyalty.

What to Expect

Most of the time, a conflicts check clears quickly in the background and you won't notice it at all.

If something is flagged as a potential conflict, it's reviewed by a member of our team who is not the attorney assigned to your matter. No consultation, advice, or drafting happens until that review is resolved.

If a conflict is confirmed, Inhouse cannot represent you on that matter. In that case:

• Any payment will be refunded in full.
• We'll tell you promptly, especially if you've mentioned a deadline, so you can seek other counsel without delay.
• Your confidentiality is protected either way — we will never disclose your information, whether or not we end up representing you.

Because the conflict usually involves someone else's confidential relationship with us, we often can't explain who the conflict is with or what it involves. That's a deliberate limit, not an oversight — explaining it would mean disclosing someone else's confidential information.

Also worth knowing: because Inhouse works with many clients at once, you agree in advance that we may represent other clients whose interests are adverse to yours in unrelated matters. That advance consent never extends to being directly adverse to you in the same or a substantially related matter — if that situation arises, we'll ask for your specific consent or decline.

If you have questions about how a conflicts check applies to your matter, ask your Inhouse attorney or reach out to us through our Support email or our Live Support chat.