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125-473: The Seneca Nation has three reservations, two of which are occupied: Cattaraugus Reservation , Allegany Indian Reservation , and the mostly unpopulated Oil Springs Reservation . It has two alternating capitals on the two occupied reservations: Irving at Cattaraugus Reservation, and Jimerson Town near Salamanca on the Allegany Reservation. The tribe also claims sovereignty over a portion of

250-419: 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

375-476: A 99-year federal lease arrangement with the Seneca Nation. It had provided land to railroads to encourage development, which the railroad developed for workers and their families, and related businesses. This arrangement was confirmed by acts of Congress in 1875, 1890 and 1990. When that lease expired in 1991, the Seneca Nation demanded that the previous owners sign new leases with their nation for not only

500-550: A December 2016 incident in which six non-natives were banished from the nation's territories, two of whom were banned for traffic violations and the other four for drug possession. Since the later 20th century, the Seneca have been increasingly active in exercising sovereignty on their reservation and enforcing their property rights. In the 1990s, the Seneca won a prolonged court battle to assume ownership of all land on their reservation, including that owned by private non-Seneca. (This

625-404: A Porter ally, invalidated this vote under conflict of interest statutes. In an October 2012 Council Session, a close friend of Kennedy said that Porter wrote the invalidation letter for Kennedy to sign. The action for de facto impeachment was taken after John supporters said politically motivated charges were made against Susan Abrams, a John ally. The 2012 elections were marked by a split in

750-558: A across the board sweep by the Seneca Party, who endorsed Matthew Pagels for President, Rickey Armstrong Sr., for Treasurer, and Marta Kettle for Clerk. They defeated the Senecas for Change 2020 ticket led by presidential candidate and businesswoman Sally Snow, newcomer treasurer candidate Karen Johnson Veeraswamy, clerk candidate and former court of appeals judge Julie Snow, and Independent treasurer candidate Stephen Maybee. Elected to

875-464: A borrower bringing suit against her lender for charging a usurious interest rate while simultaneously representing the mortgage broker who arranged the loan as a third party defendant in the same lawsuit. Although neither client had brought an action against the other, the court found a material limitation conflict: "Advocating for Client A would potentially harm Client B, who was potentially liable for contribution. Kalla's ability to fully advocate for both

1000-700: A chain of small video slots and bingo facilities with locations in Irving , Salamanca , and on the Oil Spring Reservation in Cuba . Through a tribal-owned holding company , the tribe owns a telecommunications firm, Seneca Telecommunications; and a construction management company, SCMC LLC. Under the presidency of Robert Odawi Porter, the tribe began pursuing diversification of the Nation's businesses. It promoted founding of new Seneca-owned businesses beyond

1125-620: A client if the client's interests conflict with those of another client, even if the two clients are represented by 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. More generally, conflicts of interest can be defined as any situation in which an individual or corporation (either private or governmental)

1250-409: A client or defends an adversary in an action their client has brought. It may also arise in the context of business negotiations, when a lawyer negotiates on behalf of an adversary against a current client, even if the matter is unrelated to any matter the lawyer is handling for the client. However, merely advocating opposite sides of the same legal issue does not give rise to direct adversity. Even if

1375-405: A client will not consent to a conflict and allow a lawyer to take on another representation, the lawyer cannot then withdraw from the existing representation, thus turning the existing client into a former client and ending the duty of loyalty. As the courts have stated, the lawyer cannot "drop a client like a hot potato" to cure a conflict. This label has stuck, and the doctrine is now aptly called

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1500-412: A conflict of interest can exist even if there are no improper acts as a result of it. (One way to understand this is to use the term "conflict of roles". A person with two roles—an individual who owns stock and is also a government official, for example—may experience situations where those two roles conflict. The conflict can be mitigated—see below—but it still exists. In and of itself, having two roles

1625-527: A constitutional convention. The Seneca Nation of Indians Constitution established a tri-partite governing structure based on general elections of 16 Councilors, three Executives (President, Treasurer, and Clerk), and Court Justices (Surrogates and Peacemakers). Elections take place every two years, on the first Tuesday in November, usually concurrent with Election Day in the United States. An exception

1750-413: A convenience store chain (four stores), construction management, and diverse holdings in business ventures. Seneca language, song, art, dance, and sports are all vital expressions of their culture. The number of fluent Seneca language speakers is diminishing due to the deaths of elders, and the language is considered at-risk. The Nation has established language programs to help protect, preserve and develop

1875-434: A corporate client the law firm represents..." A concurrent conflict will also exist when "there is a significant risk that the representation of one or more clients will be materially limited by the lawyer's responsibilities to another client, a former client or a third person or by a personal interest of the lawyer." Comment 8 to Model Rule 1.7 states, by way of example, that an attorney representing multiple persons forming

2000-525: A decisive victory for Seneca Nation President. Seneca secured 87% of the vote, marking a resounding mandate from voters. Outgoing Allegany Councilor Al E. George was elected Treasurer, bringing his experience to the role after serving on the Council. Additionally, former two-time Clerk Lenith Waterman returned to office, regaining the position as Clerk of the Seneca Nation. The Seneca Nation Council saw several familiar faces returning to leadership roles. From

2125-429: 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 1998, a Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy partner was found guilty of failing to disclose a conflict of interest, disbarred, and sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment. In the United States, a law firm usually cannot represent

2250-485: A few hundred acres and relocation assistance for these families, as well as the relocation of a burial ground. That this compensation was largely considered insufficient was made worse by the fact that the government' violated a 1794 treaty- that guaranteed the tribe control of this reservation- in order to accomplish the building of the dam. In addition, the Kinzua damn project has since caused other flooding on their land and

2375-399: A financial transaction such as an insurance claim. This problem is exacerbated when the claimant is told or believes, the insurance company's claims adjuster is fair and impartial enough to satisfy both their and the insurance company's interests. These types of conflicts could easily be avoided by the use of a third-party platform, independent of the insurers, which is agreed to, and named in

2500-457: A joint venture may be materially limited in recommending the courses of action that any jointly represented client may take because of the lawyer's duty to the other participants in the joint venture. The Supreme Court of Minnesota found a material limitation conflict in In re Petition for Disciplinary Action Against Christopher Thomas Kalla. In Kalla, an attorney was disciplined for representing

2625-629: A lawyer acting directly adverse to a client is when the lawyer sues the client. At the other end of the spectrum is when a lawyer represents business competitors of the client who are not adverse to it in a lawsuit or negotiation. Representing business competitors of a client in unrelated matters does not constitute direct adversity nor give rise to a loyalty conflict. As one state bar ethics committee has noted: An attorney's representation of one client will often have indirect effects on other existing clients. For example, simultaneously representing business competitors on unrelated matters may indirectly impair

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2750-413: A lawyer's advocacy in an unrelated matter may make unfavorable law for another client, such effects are only indirect and not subject to the conflicts rules. There is no conflict in advocating positions that may turn out to be unfavorable to another client so long as the lawyer is not directly litigating or negotiating against that client. One of the most frequently arising questions in corporate practice

2875-450: 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 . There often is confusion over these two situations. Someone accused of a conflict of interest may deny that a conflict exists because he/she did not act improperly. In fact,

3000-898: A long-standing "illegal occupation". The Seneca were the largest of the six Native American nations that comprised the Haudenosaunee (" Iroquois ") Confederacy, or Six Nations. Their democratic government pre-dates the United States Constitution. In the Iroquois Confederacy, the Seneca are known as the "Keepers of the Western Door," for they are the westernmost of the Six Nations. In the Seneca language they are called O-non-dowa-gah, (pronounced: Oh-n'own-dough-wahgah) or "Great Hill People." At

3125-415: A loyalty conflict has been labeled a concurrent conflict of interest. The duty of confidentiality is protected in rules prohibiting so-called successive conflicts of interest, when a lawyer proposes to act adversely to the interests of a former client. A lawyer who has formerly represented a client in a matter is precluded from representing another person in the same or a substantially related matter that

3250-453: A matter is of importance because under such circumstances the decision-making process can be disrupted or compromised in a manner that affects the integrity or the reliability of the outcomes. Typically, a conflict of interest arises when an individual finds themselves occupying two social roles simultaneously which generate opposing benefits or loyalties. The interests involved can be pecuniary or non-pecuniary. The existence of such conflicts

3375-508: A new generation of Seneca-language speakers to keep the language alive. Lacrosse is a sport played by male and female, young and old. Two new community sports complexes on each territory enable year-round lacrosse leagues and space for community programs, crafts and learning. Like other Iroquois tribes, Seneca Nation lacrosse players compete internationally on the Iroquois Nationals and Haudenosaunee Nationals squads, organized by

3500-490: A party's candidates for office with a single ballot mark by intimidating candidates from other parties out of the race, and on election day, poll workers eavesdrop upon voters by timing how long it takes to cast a ballot. In years past, the nation has used lever-action voting machines, a process that will be replaced as of 2016 by scanned paper ballots, If a poll worker heard a voter depress more than one lever, or take too long to complete their ballot, they could report this back to

3625-415: A price advantage over off-territory businesses, as well as on-territory businesses operated by non-Seneca. Issues related to these excise taxes have been a source of controversy between the tribes and the state government and non-Seneca convenience store operators in the vicinity for several decades. For decades, the Seneca developed their land primarily for agricultural and related uses. The floodplain along

3750-424: A risk that a decision may be unduly influenced by other, secondary interests, and not on whether a particular individual is actually influenced by a secondary interest. A widely used definition is: "A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest." Primary interest refers to

3875-430: A secondary interest (such as financial gain). Conflict-of-interest rules [...] regulate the disclosure and avoidance of these conditions. Conflicts of interest have been described as the most pervasive issue facing modern lawyers. Legal conflicts rules are at their core corollaries to a lawyer's two basic fiduciary duties: (1) the duty of loyalty and (2) the duty to preserve client confidences. The lawyer's duty of loyalty

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4000-427: A similar summary of 326 studies of the potential harm from cell phone usage with results that were similar but not as stark. Self-regulation of any group may also be a conflict of interest. If an entity, such as a corporation or government bureaucracy, is asked to eliminate unethical behavior within its own group, it may be in its interest in the short run to eliminate the appearance of unethical behavior, rather than

4125-518: A situation where an attorney undertook a representation directly adverse to the wholly owned subsidiary of a client, when the lawyer did not represent the subsidiary. Relying on the entity as client framework in Model Rule 1.13, the California committee opined that there was no conflict as long as the parent and subsidiary did not have a "sufficient unity of interests." The committee announced

4250-468: A substantial advantage to the organization in question over its competition, or will decrease the overall competitiveness of the bidding process. The influence of the pharmaceutical industry on medical research has been a major cause for concern. In 2009 a study found that "a significant number of academic institutions" do not have clear guidelines for relationships between Institutional Review Boards and industry. The medical-industrial complex describes

4375-399: A through road, causing the loss of additional fertile areas. In the aftermath of the dam's completion, the Seneca people developed a different political dynamic. As the tribe used some compensation monies to support higher education for its members, the 1960s crisis indirectly resulted in a "college-educated generation, some of whom now work in tribal government making major contributions to

4500-400: Is a cost imposed on consumers by governmental decisions, but never considered in any of the standard data on tax collections. Stern notes that sugar interests contributed $ 2.6 million to political campaigns, representing well over $ 1,000 return for each $ 1 contributed to political campaigns. This, however, does not include the cost of lobbying. Lessig cites six different studies that consider

4625-737: Is an Indian reservation of the federally recognized Seneca Nation of Indians , formerly part of the Iroquois Confederacy located in New York . As of the 2000 census, the Indian reservation had a total population of 2,412. Its total area is about 34.4 mi² (89.1 km²). The reservation stretches from Lake Erie inward along Cattaraugus Creek , along either side of NY 438 . It is divided among three counties for census purposes: A small cluster of Seneca-owned businesses are located along US 20 and NY 5 where they cross through

4750-443: Is an objective fact, not a state of mind, and does not in itself indicate any lapse or moral error. However, especially where a decision is being taken in a fiduciary context, it is important that the contending interests be clearly identified and the process for separating them is rigorously established. Typically, this will involve the conflicted individual either giving up one of the conflicting roles or else recusing themselves from

4875-413: Is fundamental to the attorney-client relationship and has developed from the biblical maxim that no person can serve more than one master. Just as fundamental is the lawyer's duty to maintain client confidences, which protects clients' legitimate expectations that they can make full disclosure of all facts to their attorneys without fear of exposure. The basic formulation of the conflicts of interest rule

5000-444: Is in a position to exploit a professional or official capacity in some way for their personal or corporate benefit. 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

5125-473: Is in the best interest of the insurance companies that the very smallest settlement is reached with its claimants. Based on the adjuster's experience and knowledge of the insurance policy it is very easy for the adjuster to convince an unknowing claimant to settle for less than what they may otherwise be entitled which could be a larger settlement. There is always a very good chance for a conflict of interest existing when one adjuster tries to represent both sides of

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5250-467: Is in years when November 1 is a Tuesday; in those years, the Seneca Nation hold their election on November 1 while the US hold their elections on November 8. The leadership rotates between the two reservations each election, so no officer can serve consecutive terms. There are no other term limits , and elected officers can serve numerous nonconsecutive terms. The Council established rules for citizenship within

5375-476: Is materially adverse to the former client. These two basic formulations – that a lawyer may not act directly adverse to a current client or adverse to a former client on a substantially related matter – form the cornerstone of modern legal conflicts of interest rules. An attorney owes the client undivided loyalty. The courts have described this principle as "integral to the nature of an attorney's duty." Without undivided loyalty, irreparable damage may be done "to

5500-420: Is no inherent conflict. COI is sometimes termed competition of interest rather than "conflict", emphasizing a connotation of natural competition between valid interests—rather than the classical definition of conflict, which would include by definition including a victim and unfair aggression. Nevertheless, this denotation of conflict of interest is not generally seen. Baker summarized 176 studies of

5625-698: Is not illegal, but the differing roles will certainly provide an incentive for improper acts in some circumstances.) As an example, in the sphere of business and control, according to the Institute of Internal Auditors : conflict of interest is a situation in which an internal auditor , who is in a position of trust, has a competing professional or personal interest. Such competing interests can make it difficult to fulfil his lor her duties impartially. A conflict of interest exists even if no unethical or improper act results. A conflict of interest can create an appearance of impropriety that can undermine confidence in

5750-407: Is one of the aims of political ethics . Public officials are expected to put service to the public and their constituents ahead of their personal interests. Conflict of interest rules are intended to prevent officials from making decisions in circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as violating this duty of office. Rules in the executive branch tend to be stricter and easier to enforce than in

5875-438: Is that a conflict exists "if there is a substantial risk that the lawyer's representation of the client would be materially and adversely affected by the lawyer's own interests or by the lawyers' duties to another current client, a former client, or a third person." The duty of loyalty requires an attorney not to act directly adverse to an existing client, even on an unrelated matter where the lawyer has no client confidences. Such

6000-470: Is to distinguish special interests from the general interests of all constituents. Second, the "political interests" of legislatures include campaign contributions which they need to get elected, and which are generally not illegal and not the same as a bribe. But under many circumstances, they can have the same effect. The problem here is how to keep the secondary interest in raising campaign funds from overwhelming what should be their primary interest—fulfilling

6125-457: Is trying to protect. The substantial relationship test was designed to protect against such disclosures. Under this test, the attorney's possession of the former client's confidential information is presumed if "confidential information material to the current dispute would normally have been imparted to the attorney by virtue of the nature of the former representation." The substantial relationship test reconstructs whether confidential information

6250-502: Is whether parent corporations and their subsidiaries are to be treated as the same or different entities for conflicts purposes. The first authority to rule on this question was the California State Bar Ethics Committee, which issued a formal opinion ruling that parent corporations and their subsidiaries are to be considered distinct entities for conflicts purposes. The California committee considered

6375-773: The Canawaugus settlement as of 2022, which is not federally recognized. An additional territory de facto governed by the nation, the Cornplanter Tract in Pennsylvania , officially expired in 1957 and was submerged by the construction of the Allegheny Reservoir in 1965. In 1848, Seneca Indians residing on the Allegany and Cattaraugus Territories in New York established this government through

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6500-736: The First Nations Lacrosse Association , which competes on par with fully sovereign nations such as the U.S. and Canada in international competition. A Faithkeepers' School supports and ensures the ongoing practice of traditional teachings, arts, knowledge and the living culture of the Longhouse ways. The vibrancy of the rich Seneca heritage is evident in the ceremonies, practices, and cultural events that are infused with dance, music and song, arts, crafts and traditional foods that honor and celebrate Seneca culture. Cattaraugus Reservation Cattaraugus Reservation

6625-423: 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. In the practice of law , the duty of loyalty owed to a client prohibits an attorney (or

6750-484: The "hot potato" doctrine. However, as one commentator has pointed out, the reasoning underlying this line of cases has been sparse, and few courts have attempted to justify this result through an analysis of the ethics rules. The unstated rationale behind the Hot Potato doctrine is that a withdrawal attempted without good cause under Model Rule 1.16(b) is an ineffective withdrawal, which does not successfully terminate

6875-500: The 1848 convention. Followers of the traditional government structure split off and organized the Tonawanda Band, who later also gained federal recognition. The Seneca Nation government denied women the right to vote until the early 1960s, this despite the traditional pre-republic structure in which women were granted the right to choose chiefs. The nation's male voters rejected female suffrage in three consecutive referendums in

7000-558: The 1950s, all rejected with widespread opposition from the Allegany Reservation, before the referendum finally passed in 1964, with women granted the right to hold office in 1966. Since the late 20th century, the Seneca government is reported to be primarily under one-party rule , with the Seneca Party having control of the political process. In 2011, the Seneca Party was reported by The Buffalo News as having bribed people for votes and bussed voters in from out of state during elections. The party also controls human resources management in

7125-715: The Allegany Territory, the Council included Rickey L. Armstrong, Sr., the outgoing president of the Seneca Nation, who was re-elected to the Council, Kevin W. Seneca, a former Nation Treasurer and Chairman of the Seneca Gaming Corporation, who returned to Council, Christian Reiller, and Josh Becker. From the Cattaraugus Territory, the newly elected Council members included Klint Nephew, Eliot Jimerson, Lisa Maybee, and Jonathan D. Williams. With Seneca’s election to President, his seat on

7250-480: The California Supreme court held that a prospective waiver that did not make specific disclosure of an actual current conflict was not effective to waive that conflict. As the court said, The Sheppard Mullin case does not invalidate prospective waivers in California. It only holds that waivers of current and actual conflicts must specifically disclose those conflicts, an unremarkable conclusion. If

7375-565: The Cattaraugus Territory Council became vacant. To fill the remainder of his term, former Nation President and Treasurer Todd Gates was appointed to the Cattaraugus Council, bringing a wealth of experience back to the Council table. The election reflected the Seneca Nation's continued commitment to strong governance and leadership, with a mix of experienced leaders and new voices coming together to shape

7500-646: The Cattaraugus Territory. Tina Abrams, Rickey Armstrong, William "Billy" Canella and Stephen Gordon were elected to the Council from the Allegany Territory. The Seneca Party nominated then Treasurer/CFO, Todd Gates, as its nominee for President in September 2016, spurning Barry Snyder's efforts at a sixth term; Snyder, a supporter of the party machine, endorsed Gates, who faced challengers J.C. Seneca and Sally Snow. The Seneca Nation elections took place on November 1, 2016. Gates defeated candidates J.C. Seneca and Sally Snow for President. Outgoing President Maurice "Moe" John

7625-495: The District of Columbia, and served as the basis of ABA Formal Ethics Opinion 95-390. The law in most jurisdictions is that parent corporations and their subsidiaries are treated as distinct entities, except in limited circumstances noted by the California ethics committee where they have a unity of interests. The Second Circuit has adopted a variation of the California standard. In GSI Commerce Solutions, Inc. v. BabyCenter LLC,

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7750-504: The Nation's traditional strongholds of gasoline retail and tobacco products. In 2010 the tribe acquired a controlling interest in wireless and telecommunications provider CT COMM, based in Washington, D.C. From 2010 to 2021, Seneca Holding also owned and operated Seneca Broadcasting LLC, which operated radio station WGWE . The Seneca Nation sold WGWE to Paul Izard shortly after shutting the station down but failed to disclose problems with

7875-694: The Old World-American settlers, particularly in regards to treaty agreements. In 1995, the Seneca Nation of Indians sent a trade mission to Egypt in hopes of encouraging trade between the Iroquois nation and the northeast African country. Seneca leaders also meet with OAPEC representatives to discuss a possible trade deal whereby the nation would trade agricultural commodities for Egyptian refined gasoline. The nation claims authority to banish non-Seneca individuals from tribal lands; it has historically used this power in only rare circumstances, such as

8000-507: The River. While alternatives existed, the federal government's study concluded that these were not viable. The COE proceeded with the project: construction of the dam and associated reservoir. The project caused huge losses for the tribe, taking 10,000 acres of their reservation, nearly one third of their total property and much of it the most fertile farmland. More than 600 families were displaced from their homes and relocated. The tribe received

8125-445: The Seneca Party and one of the most wide-open (and bitterly contested) Seneca elections in several years: five candidates competed for the post of president, including two endorsed by the two major factions in the Seneca Party. Barry E. Snyder Sr., a John ally who had previously served several other terms as President (including the one immediately before Porter), was re-elected to the post in 2012. On November 4, 2014, with 66 percent of

8250-486: The Seneca Party bosses, who could then punish the voter by denying them jobs or seizing their homes. There have been numerous factions and disputes within the Seneca Party; tensions increased during the presidency of attorney Robert Odawi Porter in 2010–2012. Supporters of Porter were at odds with supporters of the John family, an old-line, politically powerful family in Seneca circles. In the years following Porter's lone term,

8375-497: The Seneca ordered an eviction of 80 residents of summer cottages at Snyder Beach on the Cattaraugus Reservation, a location near Sunset Bay . They had previously notified the owner of the land that his leases to non-Seneca were not permissible, but he had done nothing to clear his property. Some of the residents were from families who had rented there for decades. The Seneca described the non-Natives as constituting

8500-491: The Seneca were also renowned for their sophisticated diplomacy and oratory skills, and their willingness to unite with the other four of the original Five Nations to form the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations. Today the Seneca Nation sustains its own people. Its enterprises benefit surrounding communities with a variety of cultural, educational and economic efforts. Its varied enterprises include: world-class casino gaming, hospitality and entertainment, which employ over 3,500 people;

8625-572: The Town of Hanover . (At the reservation's southeast corner, near the village of Gowanda , it comes within a few feet of bordering the Town of Persia in Cattaraugus County.) The reservation is mostly of a rural character, with one-family homes along Route 438 interspersed with businesses such as tobacco shops. The reservation is divided into several communities such as Newtown, Bucktown, Pinewoods, Eleven Acres, Ozarks, and Indian Hill. At

8750-408: The attorney's duty to preserve a client's confidential information. Model Rule 1.9(a) sets forth this doctrine in a rule that has come to be known as the substantial relationship test. The rule states: Without the substantial relationship test, a client attempting to prove that its former lawyer possesses its confidential information might have to disclose publicly the very confidential information it

8875-430: The behavior itself, by keeping any ethical breaches hidden, instead of exposing and correcting them. An exception occurs when the ethical breach is already known by the public. In that case, it could be in the group's interest to end the ethical problem of which the public has knowledge, but keep the remaining breaches hidden. Insurance companies retain claims adjusters to represent their interest in adjusting claims. It

9000-531: The center of the reservation along Route 438 are the Seneca Nation government offices, a Head Start/Daycare Center, community buildings, and the volunteer fire department. Conflict of interest A conflict of interest ( COI ) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests , financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations in which

9125-404: The conflicts of the itinerant lawyer's former firm are imputed to their new firm. In Kirk v. First American Title Co., the court ruled that an itinerant lawyer's conflicts are not imputed to their new law firm if that firm timely sets up an effective ethics screen preventing the lawyers from imparting any confidential information to the lawyers in the new firm. An effective ethics screen rebuts

9250-538: The council from the Allegany Territory were longtime council members Al E. George, Arlene Bova, outgoing marshal Josh Becker, and former Seneca Nation Health System president/chief executive officer, Tim Waterman. Councilors elected from the Cattaraugus Territory were the Seneca’s environmental director, Lisa Maybee, current councilor and fire chief of the Nation’s volunteer fire department, Presley Redeye, deputy chief of staff to

9375-403: The courses of action that could be foreclosed due to the joint representation, the potential danger that the client's confidential information might be disclosed, and the potential consequences if the lawyer had to withdraw at a later stage in the proceedings. Merely telling the client that there are conflicts, without further explanation, is not adequate disclosure. The lawyer must fully disclose

9500-615: The court ruled that parent corporations and their subsidiaries should be treated as the same entity for conflicts purposes when both companies rely "on the same in-house legal department to handle their legal affairs." However, the court ruled that the lawyer and client can contract around this default standard. The court quoted with approval the opinion of the City of New York Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics, which stated, "corporate family conflicts may be averted by ... an engagement letter ... that delineates which affiliates, if any, of

9625-446: The dam was constructed in 1965. The operator at the time, FirstEnergy of Toledo, Ohio, had a license that was set to expire in 2015. The private sector is estimated to have been making $ 13 million in profits annually from the hydropower. President Porter has noted that, when the federal dam was proposed, tribal leaders were told only that it was needed for flood control, not that a hydroelectric project would be run there. In August 2011,

9750-480: The dam. FERC denied a rehearing and stay requested by the company. In 2013, the Seneca launched a public transit bus service to serve both the Cattaraugus and the western portion of the Allegany reservations; it operates one route, running along NY 438 , NY 353 , Old Route 17 , I-86 and West Perimeter Road between Irving and Highbanks . The service is open to non-Seneca along the route. Mary Jemison

9875-402: The disputes have mostly been settled. In November 2011, the John family led a vote to depose Porter by stripping him of most of his powers and give the title of chief executive officer to Michael "Spike" John. He is the cousin of Maurice "Moe" John, who served as Seneca president from 2006 to 2008, and ran unsuccessfully for Seneca President against Porter in 2010. Diane Kennedy, Tribal Clerk and

10000-428: The duties of office. Politics in the United States is dominated in many ways by political campaign contributions. Candidates are often not considered "credible" unless they have a campaign budget far beyond what could reasonably be raised from citizens of ordinary means. The impact of this money can be found in many places, most notably in studies of how campaign contributions affect legislative behavior. For example,

10125-536: The effect that "He who purchases on price alone deserves to get rooked." Real estate brokers have an inherent conflict of interest with the sellers they represent, because the usual commission structures of brokers motivate them to sell quickly rather than to sell at a higher price. However, a broker representing a buyer has a distinct disincentive to negotiate a lower price on behalf of their client, because they will simultaneously be negotiating their own commission lower. Regulating conflict of interest in government

10250-482: The enrolled citizens. These off-territory members are eligible to vote and are often bussed in during elections. The Seneca Nation's republican form of government stands in contrast to that of the federally recognized Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians . That band of the Seneca retained its traditional government of hereditary chiefs chosen by clan mothers from the maternal lines responsible for such leadership. The Seneca Nation of New York deposed such hereditary leaders in

10375-505: The existing attorney-client relationship. When viewed in this light, a withdrawal accomplished with good cause should be an effective withdrawal that does permit a lawyer to take on a representation that would otherwise be conflicting, as long as there is no substantial relationship with the prior matter. The standard used to assess conflicts involving such former clients will be discussed in the next section. Conflicts of interest rules involving former clients are primarily designed to enforce

10500-429: The existing client's sense of trust and security – features essential to the effective functioning of the fiduciary relationship…" A key feature of the duty of loyalty is that an attorney may not act directly adverse to a current client or represent a litigation adversary of the client in an unrelated matter. The damage done is to the client's confidence that the lawyer is serving their interests faithfully. An example of

10625-475: The following standard for evaluating the separateness of parent and subsidiary: As one commentator has noted, "For a state ethics opinion, California Opinion 1989-113 has been unusually influential, both with courts there, with ethics committees elsewhere, and through the latter set of ethics committee opinions, with… recent decisions in other jurisdictions." The California opinion has been followed by ethics committees in such jurisdictions as New York, Illinois and

10750-826: The future of the Nation. The 2024 election cycle marked a significant moment in Seneca Nation politics, as it reinforced the importance of both continuity and change in the leadership of the Nation's government. The tribe owns and operates the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino , located in Buffalo . Other gaming and resort properties include the Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca and Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls . The Seneca Nation also owns Seneca Gaming and Entertainment,

10875-399: The government and these services conflict (e.g.: manufacturing parts and then participating in a selection committee comparing parts manufacturers). Corporations may develop simple or complex systems to mitigate the risk or perceived risk of a conflict of interest. These risks can be evaluated by a government agency (for example, in a U.S. Government RFP ) to determine whether the risks create

11000-617: The interaction between physician's conflict of interest with for-profit healthcare , continuing medical education , and patient's ethical considerations. In contrast to this viewpoint, an article and associated editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine in May 2015 emphasized the importance of pharmaceutical industry-physician interactions for the development of novel treatments, and argued that moral outrage over industry malfeasance had unjustifiably led many to overemphasize

11125-457: The interests of constituents without also representing some of their own. As Senator Robert S. Kerr once said, "I represent the farmers of Oklahoma, although I have large farm interests. I represent the oil business in Oklahoma...and I am in the oil business...They don't want to send a man here who has no community of interest with them, because he wouldn't be worth a nickel to them." The problem

11250-468: The interests of each. It will be rare indeed when an attorney's representation of a client will not have numerous indirect adverse effects on others. Obtaining a benefit for a client will often mean disadvantaging another person or entity, and indirect consequences may follow to all who may be dependents or owners of the attorney's opponents. The attorney's duty of loyalty, however, extends only to adverse consequences on existing clients which are 'direct.'...Of

11375-404: The internal auditor , the internal audit activity, and the profession. A conflict of interest could impair an individual's ability to perform his or her duties and responsibilities objectively. A few examples of conflict of interest are: An organizational conflict of interest (OCI) may exist in the same way as described above, for instance where a corporation provides two types of service to

11500-418: The legislative branch. This is visible through one study which highlights how Members of Congress who have specific stock investments may vote on regulatory and interventionist legislation. Two problems make legislative ethics of conflicts difficult and distinctive. First, as James Madison wrote, legislators should share a "communion of interests" with their constituents. Legislators cannot adequately represent

11625-417: The most common forms of conflicts of interests: Other improper acts that are sometimes classified as conflicts of interest may have a better classification. For example, accepting bribes can be classified as corruption, use of government or corporate property or assets for personal use is fraud , and unauthorized distribution of confidential information is a security breach . For these improper acts, there

11750-490: The nation's various enterprises, allowing them to hire people for patronage jobs and fire people for political dissent. Opposing political parties have accused the party of electoral malfeasance through violating the secret ballot . According to J.C. Seneca, a former Seneca Party politician who defected from the party in 2014, the ruling class has ensured that only the Seneca Party has had enough candidates to qualify for straight-ticket voting in which voters can select all of

11875-428: The nation. In the 21st century, the Seneca Nation of Indians in New York has a total enrolled population of nearly 8,000 citizens. Its territories are mostly rural with several residential areas. Many Seneca citizens live off-territory, and some are located across the United States, as well as in other countries. Off-territory residents, who often work in remote urban areas that provide more jobs, comprise nearly half of

12000-670: The nation’s present and future." In a major action, in 2010 the Nation filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to take over operations of the hydropower works, the Seneca Pumped Storage Project at Kinzua Dam . Robert Odawi Porter, president of the tribe, said this would not only help the tribe to diversify its economy, but be a means of compensation for environmental and property losses that accompanied flooding of 10,000 acres of tribal areas after

12125-425: The numerous and varied consequences which a representation of one client may have on other clients, well-established legal authority interpreting the duty of loyalty limits the scope of ethical inquiry to whether the other affected clients are parties to the case or transaction in which the attorney is acting. --California State Bar Ethics Opinion 1989-113. Direct adversity may arise in litigation when an attorney sues

12250-399: The particular decision-making process in question. The presence of a conflict of interest is independent of the occurrence of inappropriateness . Therefore, a conflict of interest can be discovered and voluntarily defused before any corruption occurs. A conflict of interest exists if the circumstances are reasonably believed (on the basis of past experience and objective evidence) to create

12375-552: The people cultivated the Three Sisters staple crops: varieties of corn, beans, and squash. In Seneca the Three Sisters are also called Deohako (pronounced: Jo- hay- ko), "the life supporters." Generally women cultivated and processed the crops, maintaining seed crops and experimenting with varieties, and men were subsistence hunters and fishers. The Seneca were highly skilled at warfare, and were considered fierce adversaries by other Native Americans and European colonists. But

12500-455: The personal interest of an individual or organization might adversely affect a duty owed to make decisions for the benefit of a third party. An "interest" is a commitment, obligation, duty or goal associated with a particular social role or practice. By definition, a "conflict of interest" occurs if, within a particular decision-making context, an individual is subject to two coexisting interests that are in direct conflict with each other. Such

12625-484: The policy. A person working as the equipment purchaser for a company may get a bonus proportionate to the amount the company is under budget by year-end. However, this becomes an incentive for the employee to purchase inexpensive, substandard equipment. Therefore, this is counter to the interests of those in the company who must actually use the equipment. W. Edwards Deming listed "purchasing on price alone" as number 4 of his famous 14 points , and he often said things to

12750-450: The potential impact of Bisphenol A on human health as follows: Lessig noted that this does not mean that the funding source influenced the results. However, it does raise questions about the validity of the industry-funded studies specifically, because the researchers conducting those studies have a conflict of interest; they are subject at minimum to a natural human inclination to please the people who paid for their work. Lessig provided

12875-423: The potential impairment to the lawyer's loyalty and explain how another unconflicted attorney might better serve the client's interests. It is not unusual in the current legal environment of large multinational and global law firms for the firms to seek advance or prospective waivers of future conflicts from their clients. A law firm is particularly likely to seek a prospective waiver when a large corporation seeks

13000-453: The presumption that the itinerant lawyers shared confidential information with the lawyers in the new firm. The components of an effective ethics screen, as described by the court in Kirk, are: 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

13125-408: The price of sugar in the United States has been roughly double the international price for over half a century. In the 1980s, this added $ 3 billion to the annual budget of U.S. consumers, according to Stern, who provided the following summary of one part of how this happens: This $ 3 billion translates into $ 41 per household per year. This is in essence a tax collected by a nongovernmental agency: It

13250-444: The primary interests. Conflict of interest rules in the public sphere mainly focus on financial relationships since they are relatively more objective, fungible , and quantifiable, and usually involve the political, legal, and medical fields. A conflict of interest is a set of conditions in which professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as a patient's welfare or the validity of research) tends to be unduly influenced by

13375-525: The principal goals of the profession or activity, such as the protection of clients, the health of patients, the integrity of research, and the duties of public officers. Secondary interest includes personal benefit and is not limited to only financial gain but also such motives as the desire for professional advancement, or the wish to do favours for family and friends. These secondary interests are not treated as wrong in and of themselves, but become objectionable when they are believed to have greater weight than

13500-668: The private hydropower project to use the Allegheny Reservoir, but no operator had ever obtained property rights from the Seneca Nation for operation of the dam. On July 22, 2015, the Commission issued a new 50-year license to Seneca Generation to continue operation of the Kinzua Project, effective December 1, 2015. That year, Seneca Generation sought relief from requirements by federal resource agencies related to measures to protect rare and endangered species below

13625-968: The problems created by financial conflicts of interest. The article noted that major healthcare organizations such as the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology , the World Economic Forum, the Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Food and Drug Administration had encouraged greater interactions between physicians and industry in order to bring greater benefits to patients. The following are

13750-535: The reservation. Facilities include numerous cannabis dispensaries, a Bingo Hall, with a Poker Room and various video slot machines . Interstate 90 passes through the reservation; the closest exit is located in Irving, New York . In Erie County, the reservation is bordered by the Towns of Brant , North Collins , and Collins ; in Cattaraugus County by the Town of Perrysburg ; and in Chautauqua County by

13875-491: The river was highly fertile. In the 1960s, members of the tribe became increasingly politically active. This was related to asserting sovereignty as part of a general Native American activism in this period and, specifically, to try to defeat proposals by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to take thousands of acres of reservation land as part of construction of Kinzua Dam , a flood-control project on

14000-530: The specialized knowledge of the firm in a small matter, without a high likelihood of repeat business. As the ABA stated in its Ethics Opinion 93-372: Prospective waivers are most likely to be upheld by the courts when they are given by sophisticated corporate clients represented by independent counsel in the negotiation of the waiver. However, in Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP v. J-M Manufacturing Co. ,

14125-618: The station's transmitter or terms in WGWE's broadcast tower lease, prompting Izard to quickly donate the station to Family Life Network and accuse the Seneca Nation and the tower owner of malfeasance. The tribe has developed a brand of cigarettes called Native Pride. The tribe also owns a small chain of smoke shops and gas stations under the "Seneca One Stop" brand, but the vast majority of smoke shops on Seneca reservations are independently owned. Seneca-owned businesses operated on sovereign land are exempt from New York state excise taxes, giving them

14250-917: The time of the formation of the Iroquois League, the original five nations occupied large areas of land in Northeast North America, particularly present-day New York, Pennsylvania, and Southeast Canada. The historical territoryof the Seneca Nation ran throughout the Finger Lakes area in Central New York, and in the Genesee Valley in Western New York. The Seneca lived in longhouses near rivers, and their villages were well fortified with wooden-stake palisade fences. These were settled communities in which

14375-475: The treasurer, Eliot “Chub” Jimerson, current councilor and former chief marshal, Keith White. In 2024, the aforementioned J.C. Seneca reconciled with the Seneca Party and received its nomination for President as part of its slate of candidates. The 2024 Seneca Nation election resulted in significant changes to the leadership of the Seneca Nation, with a strong showing of support for Cattaraugus Councilor J.C. Seneca, who defeated independent challenger Mike General in

14500-446: The tribe received a preliminary permit from FERC to study "the feasibility of the additional hydropower operations and [it] grants them priority status in filing for the full permit." The Nation was required to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to obtain documents relevant to adding new generation infrastructure to its dam. In November 2013, FERC approved FirstEnergy's sale of 11 hydro plants, including that at Kinzua Dam, which

14625-414: The underlying land, but also the improvements as well, or be evicted. The Seneca evicted fifteen property owners from their homes for refusing to sign over their properties. The increase in lease revenue from this reinterpretation has generated sufficient revenue for the nation to pay its enrolled members a quarterly social dividend , providing those members with a basic income . In a similar case in 2012,

14750-475: The vote in the November 6th, 2018 general election. The Seneca Party won all Seneca Nation offices, Councilors elected were Tina Abrams, William Canella, Josh Jimerson, Angie Kennedy, Llona LeRoy, Robert W. Jones, Ross John Sr., and John Adlai Williams Jr. Andrew Keyes and Brandon Crouse were elected Chief Marshals; Darby LeRoy, Cheyne Jimerson, Rory Wheeler, Josh Becker, Christopher Bova, and Randy White were elected Marshals. The 2020 Seneca Nation election featured

14875-529: The vote, Maurice "Moe" John of the Seneca Party was elected to serve as President of the Seneca Nation of Indians. John faced council member Darlene Miller, who ran on the One Nation Party ticket. The Seneca Party had a landslide victory in the 2014 Elections; Todd Gates was elected Treasurer, and Pauline "Snap" John was elected Clerk. Elected to the Council were Ross L. John Sr., Llona LeRoy, outgoing President Barry Snyder, John Adlai Williams Jr., all of

15000-557: Was elected Treasurer, Lenith Waterman was elected Clerk. Elected to Council were Linda "Soupy" Doxtator, Jeffrey Gill, Arlene Bova Michael Williams, Presley Redeye, Keith White, Al E. George and Timothy Waterman. In the 2018 Seneca Nation elections, Rickey L. Armstrong Sr., a Nation Councilor since 2014 and a past Seneca Nation President from 2002–2004, received the Seneca Party nomination for President along with Matthew Pagels for Treasurer, and Bethany Johnson for Clerk. Armstrong defeated independent candidate Stephen L. Maybee with over 89% of

15125-618: Was likely to be imparted by the former client to the lawyer by analyzing "the similarities between the two factual situations, the legal questions posed, and the nature and extent of the attorney's involvement with the cases." The conflicts of an individual lawyer are imputed to all attorneys who "are associated with that lawyer in rendering legal services to others through a law partnership, professional corporation, sole proprietorship, or similar association." This imputation of conflicts can lead to difficulties when attorneys from one law firm leave and join another firm. The issue then arises whether

15250-423: Was materially limited by Kalla's dual representation." A concurrent conflict of interest may be resolved if four conditions are met. They are: Informed consent requires that each affected client be fully advised about the material ways that the representation could adversely affect that client. In joint representations, the information provided should include the interests of the lawyer and other affected client,

15375-422: Was particularly contentious in Salamanca , where non-Native land ownership had been tolerated for decades. State and local officials said that this is the only United States city located on Indian reservation land; under the recognized law of the time, the underlying land remained Seneca owned, but "improvements" on that land were not subject to lease and were still privately owned.) The city had been developed under

15500-424: Was the biggest project, to a unit of independent developer LS Power Group. This did not affect any transfers of operating licenses, which FERC noted were pending separate approvals. President Porter noted that the dam has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in profits for operators since it started in 1970, but the Seneca have not received any of that money. It also noted that the federal government had licensed

15625-568: Was the daughter of an Irish family who had settled in Pennsylvania. She was taken prisoner by Shawnee Indians during the French-and-Indian War. Historical accounts recorded by Dr. James Seaver indicate that Jemison was adopted by a Seneca tribe and became assimilated. In her lifetime she married two Seneca men, and raised their children in the Seneca culture. She was known to act as a liaison between her adopted Seneca Nation and

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