There are times when the Rules of Professional Conduct which govern attorneys would force a firm to decline representation of a party because the lawyer working on the particular case might come across information which would be deterimental or helpful to another client represented by the firm. A "way around" this ethical dilemna is the erection of a Chinese Wall within the firm, such that the lawyer, associates and even staff working on the one case share no information with those in the firm who might be working for another client whose interests would conflict with the first. It is a risky business and hard to accomplish in fact, but various ethical authorities have approved of it, when it works.