District of Columbia Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the District of Columbia Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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In D.C., can a lawyer treat a prepaid flat fee or subscription fee as earned on receipt and deposit it in the operating account?
The opinion concludes that prepaid flat fees and subscription fees are advances of unearned fees that must be held in trust until earned, and cannot be made earned-on-receipt by contract language alon…
Before taking over a jailed defendant's case for a fee, must a D.C. successor lawyer notify the prior lawyer, and when can the fee be collected?
The opinion concludes that under D.C. Rule 7.1(f), a successor lawyer who solicits an incarcerated person in a pending criminal case must give timely and adequate notice to current counsel before acce…
After a D.C. lawyer is fired in a contingent-fee case, can the lawyer tell successor counsel about a charging lien without breaching client confidentiality?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer whose fee is secured by a charging lien on the client's future recovery may notify successor counsel or another likely holder of the funds that the lien exists, and…
Can a D.C. lawyer accept cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, as payment for legal fees or in settlement of a client's claim?
The opinion concludes there is no per se bar to a D.C. lawyer accepting cryptocurrency, provided the fee is reasonable under Rule 1.5. When the lawyer takes cryptocurrency as an advance fee or calcula…
Can a D.C. lawyer put a mandatory arbitration clause in a fee agreement, and does the lawyer have to send the client to independent counsel first?
The opinion concludes that a mandatory arbitration provision in a fee agreement, including one covering legal-malpractice claims, is an ordinary fee arrangement governed by Rule 1.5, not a business tr…
Can a D.C. lawyer accept money raised through crowdfunding to pay for a client's legal fees, and what changes if the lawyer runs the campaign?
The opinion concludes that lawyers may generally represent clients whose fees are crowdfunded. When the client runs the crowdfunding and the lawyer is merely aware of it, the lawyer takes on no specia…
What conflict, fee, confidentiality, and unrepresented-party rules apply to a D.C. lawyer handling a private adoption for a birth parent or adoptive parents?
The opinion concludes that private (independent) adoptions raise recurring duties a lawyer must address up front, mostly under the conflict rules. A lawyer for a birth parent may accept fees from the …
Can a D.C. lawyer accept and keep a referral fee from a nonlawyer service provider, such as a financial services firm, for sending the client there?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer who refers a client to a nonlawyer service provider may accept and retain compensation from the provider for the referral, provided the criteria of Rule 1.7(c) and,…
Can an immigration lawyer sign a client's USCIS Form I-864 Affidavit of Support as a joint sponsor while still representing the client?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer may not execute an Affidavit of Support (USCIS Form I-864) as a joint sponsor on behalf of an immigration client while continuing to represent that client. The affi…
Does Rule 5.4(a)'s ban on sharing legal fees with nonlawyers stop a lawyer from paying part of a settlement or fee award to her own client?
The opinion concludes that, in the two situations presented, a lawyer's payment to her own client does not violate Rule 5.4(a)'s prohibition on sharing legal fees with nonlawyers, because that rule ex…
Can a D.C. lawyer accept credit cards to pay legal fees, including advance or unearned fees, and what does the trust-account rule require?
The opinion concludes that a lawyer may accept credit cards for payment of legal fees, including unearned (advance) fees, so long as the lawyer complies with the D.C. Rules and does not enter a mercha…
Can a D.C. lawyer pass on to the client the interest the firm pays on a line of credit it used to advance the costs of the client's case?
The opinion concludes a lawyer may pass along the interest charges incurred by using the firm's line of credit to advance a client's litigation costs, so long as the client is fully informed in advanc…
Can a D.C. lawyer charge interest on a client's overdue legal bills when the fee agreement did not provide for interest?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not unilaterally impose interest on unpaid fees where the existing fee agreement did not provide for it, but that a client's unexcused failure to pay can justif…
Can a lawyer take an ownership stake in a client company instead of charging fees, and what does D.C. require?
The opinion concluded that taking equity in a client as compensation is permissible if the fee is reasonable under Rule 1.5(a), and if the lawyer satisfies Rule 1.8(a) (the deal is fair, fully disclos…
Can a lawyer sell or assign unpaid client fee accounts to a collection agency, and what client information can the agency be given?
The opinion concluded that an outright sale of client receivables to a collection agency is not permitted because it strips the lawyer of the control needed to meet ethical duties (fee arbitration, co…
When a third party claims part of a client's settlement funds the lawyer is holding, must the lawyer hold the money or pay it to the client?
The opinion concluded that under Rule 1.15 a client's mere assertion of a claim freezes disputed funds, but a third party's claim freezes funds only if it is a 'just claim' that applicable law obligat…
Can defense counsel paid by an insurer send detailed billing and case information to the insurer or its outside bill-auditing company?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may release an insured's confidences or secrets, including detailed work descriptions, to the insurer or an insurer-hired auditor only after disclosing the conseque…
Can a nonprofit running cause litigation control its staff lawyers' cases and require clients to refuse confidential or fee-waiver settlements?
The opinion concluded that lawyers in a lay organization's general counsel office may not manage or direct litigation for third parties they do not represent, because that lets the organization regula…
Must a firm tell a client it is using a temporary lawyer, and how can it bill for that lawyer's time and any agency fee?
The opinion concluded that a firm must disclose a lawyer's temporary status and get consent whenever that status is reasonably likely to be material to the representation or the client's expectations …
If a lawyer tells a client the bill will be on a 'time basis,' can the lawyer add undisclosed administrative, originating-attorney, or value-billing charges?
The opinion concluded that when a client is told he will be billed on a 'time basis,' it violates the rules to add undisclosed charges (administrative or processing fees, originating-attorney levies, …
Can a law firm make a fixed advance fee for legal services nonrefundable, and may it keep the advance in its own account?
The opinion concluded that a retainer tied to the provision of legal services, rather than paid solely to secure the lawyer's availability, is a special retainer earned as services are performed; the …
Can a lawyer take a contingent fee to pursue a writ of error coram nobis to set aside an old criminal conviction?
The opinion concluded that Rule 1.5(d)'s ban on contingent fees for representing a defendant in a criminal case does not apply to a writ of error coram nobis proceeding, which is initiated by the form…
When settling a fee dispute, can a lawyer get an unrepresented former client to release malpractice claims or agree not to complain to bar counsel?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not condition settlement of a fee dispute on an unrepresented former client's release of malpractice liability without first disclosing facts the lawyer reasona…
When a former client owes unpaid fees, can a lawyer or the old firm withhold the client's files until the bill is paid?
The opinion concluded that retaining liens on a client's files are strongly disfavored in the District of Columbia. Under Rule 1.8(i) a lawyer may withhold only the lawyer's own work product that has …
What must a written fee agreement say, and can a flat fee carve out routine services and bill them separately by the hour?
The opinion concluded that, where a written fee agreement is required, it must adequately inform the client of the basis or rate of the fee, and that a fixed-fee agreement must include, as part of the…
Can a lawyer reveal a client's confidences in the client's bankruptcy case in order to collect unpaid fees?
The opinion concluded that under Rule 1.6(d)(5) a lawyer may reveal client confidences or secrets to collect a fee, but only where the disclosure is made in the course of a legal proceeding, is as nar…
Can a lawyer's retainer agreement require mandatory arbitration of fee disputes?
The opinion concluded that a retainer agreement requiring mandatory arbitration of fee disputes before the D.C. Bar's Attorney-Client Arbitration Board is not unethical, provided the client is told in…
Can a lawyer require a client to agree to arbitrate all fee and malpractice disputes in the retainer agreement?
The opinion concluded that a lawyer may not insist that a client sign a fee agreement requiring arbitration of all fee and malpractice disputes unless the client is actually represented by other couns…
Can a D.C. lawyer charge a reverse contingent fee based on how much money the lawyer saves the client from a claim against the client?
The opinion concludes that the D.C. Rules do not prohibit reverse contingent fees, where the fee is based on the difference between the amount a third party demands from the client and the amount ulti…
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Legal ethics opinions from the District of Columbia 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.