Bottoms v. Stapleton’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Even where there is no direct adverseness, a conflict of interest exists if there is a significant risk that a lawyer’s ability to consider, recommend, or carry out an appropriate course of action for the client will be materially limited as a result of the lawyer’s other responsibilities or interests.... The conflict in effect forecloses alternatives that would otherwise be available to the client. The mere possibility of subsequent harm does not itself require disclosure and consent. The critical questions are the likelihood that a difference in interests will eventuate and, if it does, whether it will materially interfere with the lawyer’s independent professional judgment in considering alternatives or foreclose courses of action that reasonably should be pursued on behalf of the client.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board v. Larry Alan Stoller

2. “The right of a party to choose his or her own attorney is important, but it must be balanced against the need to maintain “the highest ethical standards” that will preserve the public’s trust in the bar and in the integrity of the court system.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Nustar Farms, LLC v. Robert Zylstra and Marcia Zylstra