Can an attorney serve as lawyer and broker in same real estate transaction? According to New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion 1117 (4/4/17), a lawyer who receives a broker’s commission in a real estate transaction may not also serve as the lawyer for the buyers, even if the buyers are long-time clients and friends and have requested both kinds of services and even if the legal services are provided pro bono.
"Such personal interest conflicts are generally present when a lawyer provides brokerage services as well as legal services in the same real estate transaction. We have opined on numerous occasions that a lawyer may not act as an attorney on behalf of any party to a real estate transaction in which the lawyer is also acting as a broker. See, e.g. N.Y. State 1013 ¶ 1 (2014); N.Y. State 933 ¶ 7 (2012); N.Y. State 919 ¶ 3 (2012). In N.Y. State 753 (2002), we explained our reasoning:
The rationale for these opinions is that a lawyer should not have a personal stake in the advice rendered, and a broker who is paid only if the transaction closes cannot be fully independent in advising the client as a lawyer.
See also N.Y. State 1015 (2014) (quoting N.Y. State 753 and citing later opinions)."
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