Mark Hinderks of Stinson, LLP. Courtesy photo

Dear Ethics Lawyer

This column, written by Mark Hinderks, of Stinson LLP, focuses on ethics questions. The discussion here is based on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, but the Model Rules are often adopted in different and amended versions, and interpreted in different ways in various places. Always check the rules and authorities applicable in your relevant jurisdiction—the result may be completely different.

Question: My best friend asked me to prepare an estate plan for her giving her various family members substantial gifts. I am qualified to do the work and believe I can effectively represent her in this matter. With gratitude for our friendship, she also wishes to bequeath my daughter, her goddaughter, a first edition book by English lawyer and philosopher Jeremy Bentham, whom she knows is one of her favorites. She will sign a written waiver of any conflict, confirming that she had the opportunity to seek the advice of other counsel. May I do this under the ethical rules?

A. First, your friend and daughter have good taste in 18th-century utilitarian philosophers. Born in Houndsditch, London, Bentham was a child prodigy who studied Latin at the age of 3. Among many other things, he advocated a process for measuring right and wrong and the utility of an action based upon what causes the greatest happiness (measured by pleasure over pain) among the greatest number of people—a concept later refined by more notable philosopher John Stuart Mill. Bentham did have some notable quirks, including his direction that his body be preserved and displayed in a cabinet after his death.