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Opinion 23-02 |
Division of Fees | Law Firm Partnership and Employment Agreements | Restrictions on a Lawyer’s Practice
Under Rule 1.5(e), a law firm may agree to share fees with a retired partner as part of a retirement agreement. However, Rules 1.5(e) and 5.6 bar the firm from requiring that a lawyer or the lawyer’s new firm continue to share fees with the retired partner after the lawyer has left the firm.
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Opinion 21-04 |
Division of Fees | Referral Fees and Arrangements
An Illinois lawyer may enter into a fee-sharing agreement with an out-of-state lawyer who refers a personal injury case to the Illinois lawyer so long as the agreement complies with the applicable Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct and the corresponding rules of the foreign jurisdiction.
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Opinion 16-04 |
Conflict of Interest | Division of Fees | Fees and Expenses | Of Counsel Designation
A lawyer concentrating his or her practice in tax law may be “of counsel” to a law firm if the relationship with the firm is close and continuing. The lawyer will not be considered as being in a separate firm for the purposes of Rule 1.5(e) or for the purposes of disqualification due to a conflict of interest.
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Opinion 15-04 |
Division of Fees | Referral Fees and Arrangements
A lawyer may share court-awarded legal fees with a nonprofit organization that referred the matter to the lawyer. However, in the absence of court-awarded fees, the lawyer may not share fees with the organization, and may not pay a referral fee to the organization except as may be permitted under Rule 7.2(b)(2).
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Opinion 12-11 |
Discharge of Lawyer | Division of Fees | Fees and Expenses
A discharged attorney may not share in a division of fees with his former client’s successor attorney where the client does not agree in writing to the arrangement.
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Opinion 06-02 |
Advertising and Solicitation | Division of Fees | Unauthorized Practice of Law
A lawyer is responsible for marketing firm’s conduct that would be in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct if engaged in by a lawyer, if the lawyer orders or ratifies such conduct.
Marketing firm, retained by a law firm, may distribute advertisements promoting the firm to potential clients through the mail, by posting on electronic bulletin boards and by delivering promotions door-to-door, but it may not have personal contact with the recipients in its distribution of the advertisements.
Law firm aids in the unauthorized practice of law if it permits marketing firm to screen the responses to the advertising and to forward only “promising” responses to the law firm.
Law firm may not compensate marketing firm on any basis related to the fees received by the firm from clients obtained through the marketing firm.
Lawyer may make appearances before civic and similar organizations in an effort to obtain clients.
Law firm may not assign nonlawyer employee to determine whether potential client has a claim.
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Opinion 03-06 |
Contingent Fees | Division of Fees | Prosecutors
Law firm can properly pay former partner share of contingent fee earned after partner left firm to become State’s Attorney as long as payment is part of separation agreement under Rule 1.5(j) and payment does not violate public policy concerns; former partner’s disqualification from private practice as State’s Attorney does not bar payment to former partner of share of fee earned by firm after partner withdrew when paid as part of separation agreement; former partner sharing fee under Rule 1.5(j) need not retain responsibility for matter, share fee proportionally to service performed, get client consent or make disclosures required for fee sharing, all as required by Rules 1.5(f) or (g) .
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Opinion 01-05 |
Arbitration and Mediation | Division of Fees | Referral Fees and Arrangements
It is professionally improper for a lawyer providing mediation services in a "mediation firm" comprised entirely of lawyers to participate in an arrangement with nonlawyers whereby the "mediation firm" obtains referrals in return for the payment of fees by the "mediation firm" to the nonlawyers.
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Opinion 98-02 |
Division of Fees | Temporary Lawyers
- Payment to an independent or temporary lawyer on an hourly basis does not require disclosure to a client if there is close supervision. If work is delegated without close supervision then disclosure to a client is necessary.
- Rules of Professional Conduct allow division of fees between lawyers provided that disclosure is made to the client and client consents to the division of fees.
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Opinion 97-06 |
Advertising and Solicitation | Division of Fees
It is not professionally improper for a lawyer to operate a prerecorded telephone advertisement where a fee is charged to the caller; sharing of such fees with a non-lawyer for preparation of the recording and written advertisement is permissible; sharing of legal fees with a non-lawyer in either a partnership or corporate setting is improper.
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Opinion 96-04 |
Advertising and Solicitation | Division of Fees | Unauthorized Practice of Law
The Rules of Professional Conduct are violated in numerous particulars by the creation of a network of independent licensee lawyers to be held out as practicing in the name of a corporation wholly owned by a non-lawyer.
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Opinion 94-12 |
Advertising and Solicitation | Division of Fees | Referral Fees and Arrangements
An Illinois lawyer may not participate in a lawyer referral program which is operated by a for profit organization.
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Opinion 94-11 |
Advertising and Solicitation | Division of Fees
It is professionally improper for a law firm to participate in a cellular telephone service offering legal advice where, based on the facts presented: the promotional materials are misleading; the promotional materials fail to include the name of a lawyer responsible for the contents; the firm may be participating in improper fee splitting and a partnership with a nonlawyer; there is no apparent avoidance of conflicts of interest; and client confidences may not be preserved.
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Opinion 91-03 |
Division of Fees | Fees Paid by Third Party | Referral Fees and Arrangements
A lawyer may represent creditor/client when a collection agency retains the lawyer acting as an agent for the creditor/client but must satisfy himself that the collection agency is authorized by the creditor/client to do so; may not divide fees with the collection agency; and must ensure that the collection agency does not engage in improper solicitation for legal services or engage in the unauthorized practice of law in the marketing or performance of its services.
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Opinion 90-20 |
Division of Fees | Unauthorized Practice of Law
It is professionally improper for an attorney, employed by an institution which markets Revocable Living Trusts to consumers as estate planning tools, to prepare or review such documents; or for the attorney to share fees with the institution.
