A company that is a defendant in proceedings to determine whether it holds property as trustee has a real and substantial interest in actively defending the proceeding and is not analogous to a company in a shareholder dispute. A solicitor acting for such a company and co-defendants does not face a conflict of duty merely because the defendants have different interests in the outcome, provided those interests are not opposed. For knowing receipt claims against solicitors, knowledge of a disputed claim that property is held on trust — where the defence has a proper basis — does not satisfy Baden knowledge category (iv); the Imobilari formulation of 'real and not remote risk' is inapt in the context of solicitors acting in contested trust litigation.
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