Unless a lawyer obtains informed consent from both parties, Rule 1.7 of the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits the lawyer from representing a client when such representation will be directly adverse to the interests of another client. Virginia State Bar Comm. Good mediation practice suggests that parties who reach an agreement should commit their agreement to writing. Oral agreements may be difficult to prove if the need should arise. Although these statutes have not been construed by the courts, it is possible that a court could rely on 8.01-576.10 and decide that an oral agreement must remain confidential.
Parties can avoid proof and confidentiality problems by memorializing their agreement in writing.
See, e.g., Va. Comm. On Unauthorized Practice of Law, Op. Please note that the law governing the formation of contracts is complex and that the rule stated above is subject to exceptions and limitations. It provided only for illustrative purposes and should not be relied upon as a complete statement of the law of contracts in Virginia. Providing information to the parties on how to calculate child support under the Guidelines or on the statutory reasons for deviating from them would not constitute the practice of law.