California Law and Ethics Practice Exam

Which situation exemplifies a simultaneous dual relationship?

1. Hiring a former client as a consultant.

2. Maintaining social contact with a current client.

3. Entering a business partnership with a former client.

4. Becoming friends with a former client after termination.

The correct answer is: Maintaining social contact with a current client.

In the context of professional ethics, a simultaneous dual relationship occurs when a professional has multiple, overlapping relationships with a client at the same time. When maintaining social contact with a current client, the professional is interacting with the client in both a therapeutic or professional capacity and in a social capacity simultaneously. This situation can blur the boundaries that are essential to maintaining an effective professional relationship, creating potential conflicts of interest or impairing objectivity. Such dual relationships can lead to ethical dilemmas, as the professional must navigate the complexities of both relationships without allowing one to negatively impact the other. Consulting for a former client or forming a business partnership with a former client involves a clear separation of roles but does not represent a simultaneous relationship with a current client. In contrast, becoming friends with a former client after the end of a professional relationship does not constitute a simultaneous dual relationship because it occurs after the professional relationship has concluded. Thus, maintaining social contact with a current client exemplifies a simultaneous dual relationship.