<P> Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, refers to the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a court case / legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer . Applicable statutes or canons of ethics may provide standards for recusal in a given proceeding or matter . Providing that the judge or presiding officer must be free from disabling conflicts of interest makes the fairness of the proceedings less likely to be questioned . </P> <P> In the legal profession, the duty of loyalty owed to a client prohibits an attorney (or a law firm) from representing any other party with interests adverse to those of a current client . The few exceptions to this rule require informed written consent from all affected clients, i.e., an "ethical wall". In some circumstances, a conflict of interest can never be waived by a client . In perhaps the most common example encountered by the general public, the same firm should not represent both parties in a divorce or child custody matter . Found conflict can lead to denial or disgorgement of legal fees, or in some cases (such as the failure to make mandatory disclosure), criminal proceedings . In the United States, a law firm usually cannot represent a client if its interests conflict with those of another client, even if they have separate lawyers within the firm, unless (in some jurisdictions) the lawyer is segregated from the rest of the firm for the duration of the conflict . Law firms often employ software in conjunction with their case management and accounting systems in order to meet their duties to monitor their conflict of interest exposure and to assist in obtaining waivers . </P> <P> More generally, conflicts of interest can be defined as any situation in which an individual or corporation (either private or governmental) is in a position to exploit a professional or official capacity in some way for their personal or corporate benefit . </P> <P> Depending upon the law or rules related to a particular organization, the existence of a conflict of interest may not, in and of itself, be evidence of wrongdoing . In fact, for many professionals, it is virtually impossible to avoid having conflicts of interest from time to time . A conflict of interest can, however, become a legal matter, for example, when an individual tries (and / or succeeds in) influencing the outcome of a decision, for personal benefit . A director or executive of a corporation will be subject to legal liability if a conflict of interest breaches his / her duty of loyalty . </P>

When does a conflict of interest occur for an employee
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