Alabama State Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Alabama State Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Can an Alabama lawyer collect both a court-awarded fee and a contingency fee, and share court-awarded fees with a referring lawyer?
Yes to both, with limits. The lawyer may take a contingency fee and petition for a statutory fee award if the combined amount is not clearly excessive, and may share court-awarded fees with a referrin…
Can an Alabama lawyer charge a separate contingency fee for negotiating reductions of medical or subrogation liens on top of a gross-recovery contingency fee?
No, absent extraordinary circumstances. Charging a second contingency fee for lien-reduction work that is incident to a personal injury settlement is a clearly excessive fee, sometimes called double-d…
In Alabama, can a lawyer treat a flat fee as earned on receipt, or must the unearned flat fee go into the IOLTA trust account?
A flat fee received before the work is done is unearned and must be held in the lawyer's IOLTA account until earned, because all fees paid in advance are refundable to the extent unearned. The only ex…
In Alabama, can a law firm hire a temporary or contract lawyer through a staffing agency, and what conflict, confidentiality, consent, and fee rules apply?
Yes. A firm may use a temporary lawyer placed by a staffing agency if it runs conflict checks (the temp is treated as a firm member for Rule 1.10), safeguards confidentiality, informs the client and o…
How may an Alabama lawyer bill a client for costs and expenses, and what billing practices for fees and expenses are improper?
A lawyer may pass through actual costs but not general overhead, and may not surcharge disbursements, bill more than one client for the same hours, or recycle prior research as new billable time. The …
Can a lawyer put a binding arbitration clause in the attorney-client fee contract, and under what condition?
Only if the client is independently represented. The opinion concludes a binding arbitration provision prospectively limits the lawyer's malpractice liability under Rule 1.8(h), so it is ethical only …
Can a law firm sell its own pre-paid legal services plans and then provide the legal services those plans cover?
No. The opinion concluded a firm that acts as its own insurer for pre-paid legal services has an inherent conflict of interest with the client, because a single set fee for unlimited services gives th…
Can a lawyer take a child-support-arrearage collection case on a contingency fee?
Rarely. Because the state now collects back child support for free, the opinion concluded a contingent fee is almost never in the child's best interest; it is permitted only on a good-faith best-inter…
Can a lawyer pay a witness, and can an expert witness's fee be contingent on the outcome?
A lawyer may pay an expert witness a reasonable and customary fee for preparing and giving expert testimony, but the fee may not be contingent on the outcome. A lawyer may not pay a fact witness for t…
Can a lawyer charge a contingent fee in a divorce case, including a fee tied to setting aside an antenuptial agreement that is bound up with the divorce?
No. The opinion concluded a lawyer may not charge a fee in a domestic relations matter that is contingent on securing a divorce or on the amount of alimony, support, or property settlement, and that p…
Can a bar-association lawyer referral service charge participating attorneys a percentage of the fees they earn on referred cases?
Yes. The opinion concluded a percentage-fee program is an ethically permissible way to fund a lawyer referral service as long as the income is used to defray the cost of operating the service or to su…
Can a foreclosure lawyer charge a flat percentage of the sale (such as 15%) as an attorney's fee without tying it to the reasonableness factors?
No. The opinion concluded it is improper to charge a set percentage fee in a foreclosure sale without regard to the reasonableness factors in Rule 1.5(a); a percentage fee, like any fee, must not be c…
Does Alabama follow ABA Formal Opinion 93-379 on how lawyers may bill for fees, disbursements, and expenses?
The opinion concluded that ABA Formal Opinion 93-379 correctly states the rule for Alabama lawyers on billing for professional fees, disbursements, and other expenses, and it incorporated that ABA opi…
Can a lawyer call a retainer or advance fee 'non-refundable' in the fee agreement?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may not characterize a fee as non-refundable or use language suggesting that a fee paid before services are rendered is not subject to refund or adjustment, because it i…
Can a lawyer let clients pay legal fees through a third-party financing program like a credit card (LAWCARD)?
The opinion concluded Alabama lawyers may offer a third-party financing program (LAWCARD) for clients to pay past or future fees, provided the lawyer takes no affirmative role in the credit process, c…
Can a law firm that represents a state agency also serve as conservator for individual children who are wards of that same agency?
The opinion concluded there is no per se conflict in the firm serving as conservator for children who are wards of the Department of Human Resources while continuing to represent the Department, becau…
Can a law firm pay for a solo practitioner's television and radio advertising in exchange for the solo referring cases to the firm?
The opinion concluded a firm may not fund a solo practitioner's advertising where the solo in turn refers cases to the firm, because the arrangement causes a false or misleading communication about th…
Can a lawyer charge a truly non-refundable retainer, and can a defendant require plaintiff's counsel to sign a broader confidentiality clause than the client?
The opinion concluded no retainer may be non-refundable to the extent it exceeds a reasonable earned fee, and that because a lawyer must abide by the client's decision to settle, a lawyer may enter a …
When a client owes a fee on one matter but discharges the firm, can the firm hold the files for the client's other, fully-paid matters?
The opinion concluded that, absent a fee dispute or valid attorney's lien, a client's files belong to the client; the firm's lien reached only the file for the unpaid matter and it had to release the …
Can a lawyer take a contingent fee to collect past-due child support when the client can't afford to pay an hourly fee?
The opinion concluded a lawyer may charge a contingent fee to collect child-support arrearages already reduced to judgment, despite Rule 1.5(d)'s bar on contingent fees in domestic-relations matters, …
Can a discharged contingent-fee lawyer sue a former client to recover for the work done before being fired?
The opinion concluded a discharged contingent-fee attorney may assert the attorney's lien granted by law to secure fees and expenses and may seek appropriate legal relief for work done before terminat…
In a private adoption, can a lawyer represent the birth mother while the adoptive couple pays the lawyer's fee?
The opinion concluded a third party (such as the adoptive couple) may pay the lawyer's fee for representing the birth mother only with the client's consent after full disclosure and without the payer …
Can one lawyer represent several accident victims from the same crash, including a wrongful-death claim, when the insurance covers everyone fully?
The opinion concluded that where there is no question about the carrier's coverage or ability to pay, so that sufficient assets exist to satisfy all potential claims, one lawyer may represent multiple…
Can an insurance company's salaried house counsel defend the company's insureds in court the way outside counsel would?
The opinion concluded there is no ethical impropriety in salaried house counsel for an insurer rendering in-court defense of the carrier's insureds to the same extent as independent counsel, provided …
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Legal ethics opinions from the Alabama State Bar interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.