On Friday, May 8, 2026 at 1:00 PMFrancesca Giannoni-Crystal will present the program Cross-Border Ethics: Navigating Conflicting Rules Across Jurisdictions.This program addresses how to determine the applicable ethical rules when a lawyer’s conduct implicates more than one jurisdiction, focusing on situations where different regulatory frameworks impose inconsistent obligations.
Two recurring problems are examined: double deontology — where a lawyer faces conflicting ethical duties — and inequality of arms — where lawyers in the same matter operate under different ethical constraints. These are illustrated through divergences in witness preparation, client communications, and relationships among counsel.
The program then examines methods for identifying applicable rules, including home-state, host-state, and conflict-of-law approaches reflected in Model Rule 8.5.
International arbitration serves as a case study, with discussion of the contractarian approach — prioritizing party selection of ethics rules, followed by arbitral institution rules, governing law, and tribunal determination via conflict-of-law principles.
KEY TOPICS
1 Conflicts of ethical rules in multi-jurisdictional practice
2 Double deontology and exposure to inconsistent obligations
3 Inequality of arms arising from differing ethical constraints
4 Divergences in witness preparation, client communications & confidentiality, and relations among counsel
5 Approaches to determining applicable rules: home-state, host-state, and conflict-of-law (Model Rule 8.5)
6 International arbitration as a case study; the contractarian approach and its practical implications
For more info: Francesca Giannoni-Crystal
