ISBA Ethics Opinions on Fee Agreements | Illinois State Bar Association

Opinion 19-01 | Conflict of Interest - Litigation Matters | Fee Agreements | Fees and Expenses
Class representative fee arrangement providing for additional compensation beyond court awarded amount

Lawyers should carefully consider fee agreements under which they may be required to use part of their court-awarded fees in a class action case to compensate class representatives beyond the amount the court approves for that purpose. Such agreements create a substantial risk that the lawyer is operating under a conflict of interest that cannot be waived, because such a fee agreement places the interests of the lawyer’s client, the class representative, at odds with the interests of absent class members, to whom the lawyer owes fiduciary obligations.
Opinion 97-08 | Contingent Fees | Fee Agreements | Fees and Expenses
Fee for reduction of lien, common fund doctrine.

A lawyer cannot take an additional amount in legal fees for reducing a lien payment which is above and beyond the percentage of the lawyer’s fees agreed to by the client in the contingency fee agreement with the lawyer.
Opinion 95-11 | Client Funds and Property | Fee Agreements
Improper to negotiate settlement check of missing client

Absent a narrowly drawn power of attorney, Law Firm cannot negotiate a check on behalf of a missing client and must keep safe any such check.

ISBA Advisory Opinions on Professional Conduct are prepared as an educational service to members of the ISBA. While the opinions express the ISBA interpretation of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct and other relevant materials in response to a specific hypothesized fact situation, they do not have the weight of law and should not be relied upon as a substitute for individual legal advice. For more information, call the ISBA Legal Department at (217) 525-1760 or (800) 252-8908.