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Opinion 19-01 |
Conflict of Interest - Litigation Matters | Fee Agreements | Fees and Expenses
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. In addition, such a fee agreement could, in some circumstances, violate the prohibition on sharing fees with non-lawyers.
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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 14-01 |
Client Funds and Property | Fees and Expenses
A lawyer may accept payment for earned services and expenses by credit card, but any security retainers paid by credit card must be deposited directly into the lawyer’s trust account. A lawyer accepting credit card payments for both earned fees and security retainers should designate two accounts – one a business account, and a one a trust account – to receive the payments. Further, given the complexity of the rules implicated by credit card payments, a lawyer must obtain a thorough understanding of the agreement he or she will sign with the credit card company before accepting credit card payments. Also, the Rules of Professional Conduct do not prohibit a lawyer from charging a service fee to a client when the client uses a credit card, so long as the fee is reasonable and disclosed in advance to the client, preferably in writing.
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Opinion 13-01 |
Court Obligations | Fees and Expenses
It is not ethically permissible for a lawyer for a representative of a decedent’s estate to enter into a fee agreement, or to collect a fee, for an amount in excess of the amount of fees allowed by a probate court as reasonable.
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Opinion 12-19 |
Client Funds and Property | Fees and Expenses | Fees Paid by Third Party
An “advance payment retainer” can be used by or on behalf of a spouse in a divorce case if all of the requirements of Rule 1.15 are satisfied. The advance payment retainer should not be used, however, if the client’s purpose can be accomplished with a “security retainer.”
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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 12-02 |
Fees and Expenses
It is improper for an estate planning attorney to charge a fee calculated solely as a percentage of the value of the estate.
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Opinion 02-02 |
Client Funds and Property | Fees and Expenses
Client deposited funds into Firm's trust account for a specific transaction. The transaction never closed. More than five years later, Client and subsidiaries were involuntarily dissolved by Illinois Secretary of State. Firm may properly transfer the funds to its operating account in satisfaction of its claim for attorney fees if it has obtained written consent from the dissolved Client, through one of its former officers. Absent consent, Firm should reduce its claim to judgment and thereafter obtain a court order to set off its judgment lien against the funds held in the trust account.
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Opinion 97-08 |
Contingent Fees | Fee Agreements | Fees and Expenses
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.
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Opinion 94-17 |
Fees and Expenses
An attorney's failure to advance payment for or collect payment from a client to satisfy a court reporter's fee is not a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
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Opinion 94-10 |
Confidentiality | Fees and Expenses
A lawyer may, in the exercise of discretion, disclose a client's confidences to defend himself against accusation of wrongful conduct.
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Opinion 94-06 |
Fees and Expenses
It is professionally proper for a lawyer to charge a client interest on advanced expenses.
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Opinion 93-17 |
Client Funds and Property | Fees and Expenses
An attorney must hold property of clients or third persons separate from the attorney's own property. All nominal or short-term funds of a client must be deposited into an interest bearing trust account, with the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois designated as income beneficiary. An attorney may transfer such funds to pay his attorney's fees only after reasonable notice to and consent by the client.
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Opinion 92-09 |
Fees and Expenses | Financial Assistance to Clients
Attorney may ethically assist clients in obtaining loans for payment of attorney fees, providing the attorney protects the client's confidences and meets his fiduciary obligation of complete disclosure.
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Opinion 91-06 |
Fees and Expenses
Under certain circumstances, invoicing client for secretary's overtime work is professionally proper.
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Opinion 90-26 |
Conflict of Interest | Fees and Expenses | Withdrawal from Representation
A lawyer has an obligation to determine the existence of possible conflicts of interest at the outset of the representation. Upon learning of a conflict of interest, a lawyer should immediately inform his or her client and if consent is not secured for continued representation, should immediately withdraw.
If a lawyer must withdraw from representation due to conflict of interest, he or she shall not be entitled to share in fees arising out of that matter. If, however, the representation is not based upon contingent fee, the lawyer shall not be entitled to any fee following the date upon which a conflict was determined or reasonably should have been determined to exist.
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Opinion 88-15 |
Client Funds and Property | Fees and Expenses
An attorney may transfer funds which he is holding in trust for his client to pay the attorney's fees after reasonable notice to the client and consent by the client.
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Opinion 87-10 |
Fees and Expenses
It is professionally proper for an attorney to charge a client interest on either overdue bills or advanced expenses. The attorney should keep in mind suggested guidelines for maintaining a proper relationship with the client as well as possible ethical problems which may arise when charging interest.
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Opinion 87-05 |
Fees and Expenses | Witnesses
An attorney may acquiesce in the reimbursement of expenses incurred by a witness or the payment of reasonable compensation to a witness for time lost.
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Opinion 87-03 |
Contingent Fees | Fees and Expenses
An attorney, following disbarment, discharge by the client, or other disqualification, has a right to recover the reasonable value of services rendered to the client up to the time of disbarment,discharge or disqualification.
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Opinion 86-03 |
Fees and Expenses | Witnesses
It is professionally improper for an attorney to hire, or to recommend or acquiesce in his client hiring, an agency to provide an expert witness where the agency's compensation is contingent upon the outcome of the matter.
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Opinion 85-09 |
Fees and Expenses
An attorney may charge clients for computerized legal research expenses under a formula reflecting the attorney's actual cost.
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Opinion 799 |
Fees and Expenses
A commission received from a title insurance company for "back title evidence" must be disclosed to the client and may not be retained by the attorney.
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Opinion 768 |
Corporate and In-House Counsel | Fees and Expenses
It is not improper for a full-time, salaried lawyer to permit his employer to claim a portion of his salary as a legal fee in a mortgage foreclosure.
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Opinion 722 |
Fees and Expenses
A law firm may use an employment agreement which calls for a noncancellable and nonrefundable retainer, as long as the fee is not excessive.
