Under professional conduct rules, when may a lawyer engage in sexual relations with a client?

• A. If the client is married to the lawyer.
• B. If the client consents to sexual relations.
• C. In any matter, as long as there is no coercion.
• D. Only in domestic matters.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is a strict boundary: lawyers may not have sexual relations with a current client because it creates a personal conflict that can compromise judgment and the duty to represent the client fairly. The only time a sexual relationship with a client is allowed is if the relationship existed before the attorney-client relationship began. In that preexisting situation, there isn’t a newly formed conflict from the representation itself, so the exception applies.

So, if the client and the lawyer were already in a sexual relationship before the lawyer started representing the client (for example, they are married), that preexisting relationship satisfies the exception and the conduct is permitted under the rules. Consent from the client does not cure the ethical issue, and the restriction applies regardless of the matter at hand.