Urgent discussions were under way this week to iron out glitches in draft Law Society conflicts and confidentiality rules - which City firm Slaughter and May flagged with the Society's standards board last week.

The draft rules were pulled from the Society's Council meeting last week, where they were scheduled to be voted on.

Chris Perrin, executive partner at City firm Clifford Chance, who sits on the standards board's conflicts working party, said: 'There were a couple of issues which Slaughter and May raised.

First, the extent of the duty to disclose confidential information to a client.

Their point was that the duty to disclose was more stringent [in the draft rules] than the common law.'

He added: 'We've also proposed a small change to the issue of when you seek consent from one client to act for another.

I've always taken the view that the Law Society's rules should reflect the common law.

The duty under the new rule was unintentionally wider - extending to cases where a matter the firm is taking on is not adverse to the party to which the confidentiality is owed.'

Slaughters' tax partner Christopher Saul said: 'We're now heading in the right direction, though there is still a degree of buy-in required from the City firms.' Mr Saul added that a couple of other City firms are taking an active interest in the drafting alongside Slaughters.

Standards board chairman Andrew Holroyd said: 'The board will meet to discuss the issue next week and hopes to have a redraft in order to put before the Council in July.'

Jeremy Fleming