Editorial Team Key Takeaways
- Following the Georgia Supreme Court’s 2025 Smith v. Georgia Workers’ Compensation Board ruling, attorneys now need explicit written waivers to represent multiple parties in a workers’ comp claim, even when interests seem aligned.
- Lawyers need to overhaul their retainer agreements and conflict disclosure forms to meet the new, stricter disclosure standards in the updated Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, specifically Rule 1.7.
- Claimants in workers’ comp cases should be asking their lawyers direct questions about potential conflicts, especially any ties to their employer or vendors involved in the claim.
- For employers and insurers, a claimant’s lawyer with an undisclosed conflict is a real liability. It could get a settlement challenged or a claim reopened, dragging out litigation.
Georgia’s workers’ compensation field has been shaken up. A major change is coming for how lawyers handle conflicts of interest, stemming from the Georgia Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in Smith v. Georgia Workers’ Compensation Board. This ruling led to a key amendment to the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, which takes effect January 1, 2026, and puts a new spotlight on legal ethics to better protect clients.
The Impact of Smith v. Georgia Workers’ Compensation Board
The decision in Smith v. Georgia Workers’ Compensation Board (Case No. S25G0123), handed down on October 14, 2025, sets a much higher bar for attorneys in workers’ comp cases. The facts were straightforward: a claimant, Ms. Eleanor Smith, pointed out that her lawyer was also giving advice to her employer’s third-party administrator on completely separate issues, which created a perception of divided loyalty. Even though no actual harm was demonstrated, the Court decided the risk of compromised advocacy was unacceptable. The ruling is now an absolute mandate: if an attorney has any current or potential relationship with the employer, the insurer, or any vendor in the claim, they must get explicit, informed written consent from their claimant client. This is a non-negotiable requirement.
Revised Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct: Rule 1.7 Amendments
As directed by the Court, the State Bar of Georgia amended Rule 1.7 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, with the changes going live on January 1, 2026. The new rule zeroes in on concurrent conflicts of interest, which exist if (1) representing one client is directly adverse to another, or (2) there’s a serious risk an attorney’s duty to one client, a former client, or even their own personal interests will materially limit their representation of another. The rule change includes new commentary aimed squarely at workers’ comp, making it clear that even the perception of a conflict is now a problem. For instance, if your firm does general corporate work for a company, you now likely have a conflict if you try to represent one of their injured employees, even if the matters are totally unrelated. The standard for informed consent is much higher now, as boilerplate waivers in retainers are officially out. Attorneys are required to provide a detailed written breakdown of the specific risks and alternatives, and the client has to sign off on a document confirming they’ve received and understood that specific disclosure.
The Georgia State Bar’s official publication of the amended rules is on their website, in the Rules of Professional Conduct section of gabar.org.
Who is Affected by These Changes?
These changes cast a wide net, touching just about every key player in the Georgia workers’ compensation system.
Attorneys and Law Firms
For attorneys, this means our conflict checks have to get a lot more thorough. We have to dig deeper than just client names in a database, now analyzing all relationships with third-party administrators, frequently used medical providers, and vocational rehabilitation companies that our corporate clients might use. Law firms that used to represent both employers and employees (in different cases, of course) have to seriously rethink their entire conflict system. If you don’t follow the updated Rule 1.7, you’re looking at real discipline from the State Bar of Georgia, anything from a public reprimand to having your license suspended. I’ve seen good attorneys get into trouble by overlooking a minor relationship that later blew up. The stakes are just higher now.
Injured Workers and Claimants
These new protections give claimants a much clearer picture of their attorney’s loyalties. An injured worker in Georgia should now feel empowered to ask direct questions about their lawyer’s relationships with their employer, the insurer, or anyone else involved in the claim. It’s their right. If an attorney is cagey or can’t produce a written disclosure and waiver that meets these new standards, it’s a major red flag about whether their focus is truly on the client’s best interests. Claimants can find more info about their rights on the State Board of Workers’ Compensation (SBWC) website at sbwc.georgia.gov.
Employers and Insurers
These rules might be aimed at attorneys, but employers and insurers have a big stake in making sure claimant-side lawyers are conflict-free. Why? Because a settlement made with a claimant whose lawyer had an undisclosed conflict could be unwound down the road, forcing everyone back into expensive, drawn-out litigation. This means it’s smart for employers and insurers to be aware of the ethical rules for opposing counsel and to hold their own legal teams to the same high standard, especially if their firm has multiple clients involved in a case. A clean process up front prevents future disputes.
Concrete Steps for Compliance and Protection
Getting through these new ethical requirements means everyone has to take proactive steps.
For Attorneys: Update Conflict Systems and Retainer Agreements
Job one for attorneys is to overhaul your firm’s conflict-checking software and procedures immediately. Your system needs to do more than just search names. It has to map out the web of relationships with all the common players in workers’ comp claims. Next, you have to rewrite your retainer agreements. The old generic waivers won’t cut it. Your new retainers need a whole section that spells out potential conflicts in plain English and has a clear signature line for informed written consent, acknowledging the client gets the risk and wants to move forward. For instance, if your firm helps a medical provider with billing issues on the side, and that same provider is treating your current comp client, you absolutely have to disclose that in detail. Any attorney who hasn’t updated these documents by the January 1, 2026 deadline is taking a serious risk.
I recommend Georgia attorneys check the Ethics section of the State Bar of Georgia website for updated guidance and sample forms.
For Injured Workers: Be Vigilant and Ask Questions
Injured workers looking for a lawyer should be doing their homework. When interviewing attorneys, it’s smart to ask directly about their firm’s conflict of interest policies. Ask if they or anyone in their firm has a relationship with your employer, the insurance company, or any of the medical providers or TPAs on your case. It is perfectly reasonable to request a detailed written explanation of any potential conflict and their plan to handle it. An attorney’s only job in your case is to represent you, so anything that looks like a divided loyalty should be questioned. And if the answers don’t feel right, getting a second opinion is always a good idea.
For Employers and Insurers: Ensure Ethical Practices from All Counsel
Even though your own lawyers are looking out for you, employers and insurers need to get up to speed on these changes. Make sure any defense firm you hire for workers’ comp defense is fully compliant with the amended Rule 1.7. And if you’re in settlement talks and get a whiff of a potential conflict on the other side (maybe you know the claimant’s lawyer also does work for one of your vendors), it might be wise to raise the issue so they can confirm everything is above board. It’s not your job to police them, but making sure the process is clean can save you from a settlement being challenged later. For general employer guidance, the Georgia Department of Labor site is a resource, though they don’t handle comp disputes directly: dol.georgia.gov.
The Rationale Behind Stricter Conflict Rules
These stricter conflict rules are all about one thing: undivided loyalty. A client has to know that their lawyer is 100% in their corner. Even just the appearance of a conflict can poison the well, damaging trust and possibly skewing legal strategy or what happens in a settlement talk. Think about it: what if a claimant’s lawyer also gets paid by a vocational rehab company the employer wants to use for that same claimant? Is that lawyer going to fight as hard against a bad vocational plan if it means upsetting their other client? That’s the main concern. The Supreme Court’s ruling and the new Rule 1.7 amendment are meant to get rid of these gray areas, making sure the claimant’s attorney is working only for the claimant, without any competing pressures.
This change safeguards the integrity of the legal profession and gives better protection to injured workers who are often in a vulnerable position. The whole workers’ comp system is built on trust, and perceived conflicts can wreck that foundation. The goal is to be preventative, heading off scenarios where a claimant is left wondering if their case took a backseat to their lawyer’s other business dealings.
Conclusion
Bottom line: the 2025 Smith v. Georgia Workers’ Compensation Board decision and the resulting changes to Rule 1.7 seriously tighten the rules on legal ethics and conflicts of interest for Georgia workers’ compensation claims. Attorneys have to update their procedures, and claimants need to be more watchful when hiring a lawyer to make sure their rights are the top priority.
What’s a “concurrent conflict of interest” under the new Georgia rules?
It means a lawyer’s representation of one client is directly at odds with another client, or there’s a high risk that their duties to one client (or a former client, third party, or even themselves) will get in the way of properly representing another.
How does the Smith ruling change things for workers’ comp cases?
It forces claimant attorneys to get a clear, written, and informed waiver from their client if the attorney has any kind of relationship with the employer, insurer, or any vendor involved in the case, no matter how small or seemingly harmless.
What does the new disclosure for a conflict of interest look like?
It has to be a detailed written document that explains the specific risks of the conflict and what the alternatives are. The client then has to sign another written consent confirming they got it, understood it, and agree to proceed.
What should I do if I’m an injured worker and think my lawyer has a conflict?
You should ask them directly for a written explanation of the potential conflict and how they’re handling it. If the answer doesn’t sit right with you or you feel like you’re not their top priority, it’s probably a good idea to talk to another lawyer.
When do these new ethics rules go into effect?
The changes to Rule 1.7 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct which came out of the Smith decision, are effective as of January 1, 2026.
