Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel, with full citations and source links on every page.
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I hold my client's settlement money in IOLTA, and a third party claims part of it under a promissory note my client says is forged. What must I do with the disputed funds?
The panel concluded the attorney must notify the claimant (the mother) that he or she holds the claimed amount but lacks the client's (the daughter's) authority to disburse it, then transfer the undis…
A relative and a nonprofit paid my client's legal fees in advance. The representation ended with a surplus, and both the client and the nonprofit claim it. Who gets the refund of the excess fees?
The panel concluded the third-party payor, not the client, is entitled to the refund of excess fees at the end of the representation, unless the fee agreements specify otherwise. Because a refund retu…
I'm holding an escrow fund that unit owners contributed for a deck repair, but the client no longer wants the deck, the condo association wants the money, and the special assessment was rescinded. Who do I pay?
The panel held Rule 1.15(e) requires the attorney to protect the disputed escrow funds by keeping them in the account until the dispute over entitlement is resolved, and does not obligate the attorney…
My client signed an assignment to a medical provider, and the provider now wants over $9,000 out of the settlement, but the money isn't enough to cover everyone. What am I required to do with the funds?
The panel held Rule 1.15 requires the attorney to notify the provider that he or she holds the client's settlement funds; if the client consents, the attorney may pay the provider an agreed amount, bu…
A title insurance company I'm an approved attorney for wants unconditional access to my IOLTA account and client files for its audits. Can I give it that access without asking my clients?
No, not for everything. The panel held that a title insurer's unlimited audit access to a lawyer's client files and IOLTA account records, without the affected clients' express or implied consent, vio…
My firm has an old real estate escrow account that hasn't been touched since 2008, and we're not sure how much of the $122,000 in it is ours versus clients' or third parties'. Can we just close it out and move the money?
No. The panel held the firm must keep the entire amount in an IOLTA account until it determines which funds belong to the firm and which belong to others, disbursing only the portions whose ownership …
One of my clients told me not to pay a third party out of his settlement funds, but the third party says she's owed money out of those same funds. What do I do with the money, and can I keep representing both people?
The panel held the attorney must hold the disputed amount in trust (or pay it into the court registry and let a court decide) rather than side with either party, and that continuing to represent both …
I have a medical-payment check for my former client, but she won't endorse it, her new lawyer wants me to forward it, and the chiropractor who has a lien wants me to hold it. What do I do with the check?
Hold it or interplead. The panel held that under Rule 1.15(d) and (e), where a client and a third-party lienholder both claim an interest in the same funds and the client has not consented to payment …
My client's health insurer paid her medical bills after her personal injury settlement, but it never asserted a lien or told the other side's insurer about a claim, and my client wants the settlement money now. Do I have to hold back funds for the health insurer?
No, on these facts. The panel held that where the client insists the settlement proceeds be disbursed and the lawyer has received no notice of a claim from the health insurer, Rule 1.15(b) requires th…
I withdrew from a case and I'm holding a former client's arbitration award in an interest-bearing account in the client's name. The client keeps refusing the check based on a mistaken belief about a collateral matter. What am I supposed to do with the money?
Keep holding it in trust. The panel held the attorney is doing everything Rule 1.15 requires by holding the undisputed funds in a separate interest-bearing account for the client's benefit, and if the…
My client's predecessor counsel withdrew from a contingency case and is now claiming a lien for a third of a rejected settlement offer. Do I have to hold that amount in escrow while we dispute it?
Yes. The panel held predecessor counsel is entitled only to quantum meruit, not a share of the rejected offer, but Rule 1.15 requires the successor attorney to protect the disputed amount by escrowing…
I saw records showing another lawyer wrote dozens of personal checks on a client trust account while a court had frozen the lawyer's assets. Do I have to report it to Disciplinary Counsel?
The panel concluded that if the inquiring attorney has knowledge that the other lawyer committed a rule violation raising a substantial question about honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness, Rule 8.3(a)…
I'm holding settlement money that both my client and a physician claim, and the disputed amount is small. Can I park it in a separate savings account, and do I have to file an interpleader action if they never settle?
The panel concluded that the lawyer may hold the disputed amount in a separate trust savings account pending resolution, and is not obligated to file an interpleader action; the lawyer must protect th…
After a personal injury settlement, a physician claims a balance-billing amount my client disputes. Can I just pay the client and notify the physician, or do I have to hold the disputed money?
The panel concluded that Rule 1.15(b) obligates the lawyer to protect the disputed funds by either retaining them in the trust account until the dispute is resolved or, if no resolution is reached aft…
I took over a case from a lawyer who has since become a judge, and I'll receive one combined check for all attorneys' fees. Can I pay the judge for the legal work done before going on the bench?
The panel concluded that it is not a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct for a successor attorney to pay a judge for legal services performed on the case before the judge's appointment, pro…
I held money a client advanced for an arbitrator's fee in my trust account, then the client fired me before the arbitration ended and the arbitrator hasn't billed. Do I pay the arbitrator or return the money to the client?
The Panel concluded the lawyer must return to the client the funds exceeding the arbitrator's actual fee, may pay the arbitrator only with the client's authority, and if the client withholds authority…
I won a judgment for a client, and now the defendant wants to pay, but I can't find my client. What are my obligations for collecting and disbursing the funds?
The panel concluded that a lawyer who cannot locate a client must exercise diligent efforts to find the missing client and to protect the client's interests within the scope of the retention agreement…
My client agreed in a divorce decree to pay his ex-wife half of his personal-injury settlement, but says he'll tell me not to pay her. What do I do with the funds?
The panel concluded that, under Rule 1.15, the attorney must promptly notify both the client and the ex-wife when the settlement funds arrive and must hold any disputed portion separate until the disp…
I was discharged from a PI case and filed an attorney's lien with the new lawyer, who settled and ignored my lien. Did he violate Rule 1.15, and do I have to report him under Rule 8.3?
The panel found it lacked sufficient facts to opine that Attorney B committed a violation, and stated that under Rule 8.3 the inquiring attorney must inform Disciplinary Counsel only if he or she has …
I settled a PI case for two family members, but Medicare has a lien and one relative is terminally ill. Can I give part of my fee back to them?
The panel concluded that because Medicare had an interest in the settlement, the attorney must promptly deliver Medicare the funds it was entitled to receive, and any reduced fee was owed to Medicare …
I took over a PI case, settled it, and the client says don't pay the doctor, but the doctor produces a medical lien the prior lawyer signed that wasn't in my file. What do I do with the money?
The panel concluded that placing the disputed funds in escrow complied with Rule 1.15, and that because prior counsel and the client had signed a lien creating the physician's reliance, the disputed p…
My client's personal injury case settled, but the client and a treating physician dispute whether the medical bill is owed, and the client tells me not to pay. What do I do with the money?
The panel concluded that because the client and the physician dispute the funds, the lawyer must keep the disputed portion separate under Rule 1.15 pending resolution, arbitration, or interpleader, an…
Another lawyer at my firm admitted directly to me that he took client money. Do I have to report him under Rule 8.3, or is his admission confidential?
The panel concluded that the attorney was obligated to report Attorney X to Disciplinary Counsel, because taking client funds raises a substantial question as to honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness, …
I hold a client's fund earmarked only for expenses, and now the former client owes me unpaid hourly fees. Can I keep the expense funds to cover my fees under Rule 1.15?
The Panel concluded the attorney has no basis to claim the client's funds held solely to pay expenses; if the representation is complete, the attorney should return any balance with an accounting, and…
A state department has a disputed lien on my client's personal injury settlement and my client demands the whole recovery. What do I do with the money under Rule 1.15?
The Panel concluded that because the client and the state agency dispute the lien, Rule 1.15(c) requires the attorney to keep the disputed portion of the settlement separate pending resolution, arbitr…
I settled a client's personal injury case and the client has unpaid medical bills, but no lien was filed. I told the hospital it would be paid from the recovery. Do I have to notify and protect the hospital under Rule 1.15?
The Panel concluded that by assuring the hospital of payment the attorney undertook a duty to it, so Rule 1.15(b) required the attorney to promptly notify the hospital on receiving the funds, and any …
My IOLTA account is charged a bank wire fee each time funds come in, and I forward the interest to the RI Bar Foundation. May I deduct the wire fees before sending the interest?
The Panel concluded that under Rule 1.15(d) the interest on an IOLTA account is remitted to the Rhode Island Bar Foundation net of any service or fees, so the firm should have the bank deduct the tota…
An out-of-state lender makes me keep its mortgage proceeds in a non-IOLTA account it controls. I move the funds to my Rhode Island IOLTA account on closing day. Does that comply with Rule 1.15?
The panel advised that Rule 1.15 governs and that, because the lender refused to designate its account as IOLTA, the proper course is to withdraw the funds from the non-conforming account and deposit …
A prior attorney has a disputed lien on my client's file. The case settled and I'm holding the funds. Do I pay the client, who says the lien is frivolous, or the prior lawyer?
The panel advised that the attorney should not unilaterally arbitrate the dispute; under Rule 1.15(b) the disputed amount of the prior attorney's lien may be kept separate and not disbursed until the …
I recovered settlement funds split between a divorcing husband and wife; the wife objects to my one-third fee coming from her share. What do I do with the money?
The panel advised that because no written contingent fee agreement was made with the wife (Rule 1.5(c)), the disputed fee must be kept separate under Rule 1.15 until resolved, the undisputed portion p…
I hold settlement funds and a collection agency claims part of them for a client's hospital bill I am not sure was paid. Can I pay the client, or must I hold the money?
The panel advised that under Rule 1.15(c) the lawyer may refuse to surrender the disputed property to the client without breaching an ethical obligation, and that disbursing to the client would not vi…
Can my firm ask new personal injury and workers' comp clients to advance money for future costs, keep it in a client account, and draw on it as needed?
The panel advised that the proposed procedure is guided by Rule 1.15 (Safekeeping of Property), and that as long as the firm follows Rule 1.15 precisely, including the deposit procedures in Rule 1.15(…
I hold a condo deposit as escrow agent; my client and the purchaser both claim it. What do I do with the disputed funds?
The panel advised that under Rule 1.15 the attorney may have a duty to protect the purchaser's interest against the client's claim and may refuse to surrender the funds to the client, should keep the …
Can my firm set off unpaid legal fees and expenses against funds I'm holding for the client?
The panel concluded that under Rule 1.15(c) the law firm does not have a right of setoff; the disputed portion of the funds must be kept separate in the client fund account until the dispute is resolv…
In a collection case, can I deduct the collection agency's disputed fee from the creditor's proceeds, and how should I handle the money?
The panel concluded that the attorney cannot deduct the collection agency's fee from the amount the creditor is entitled to receive, and that the total amount collected and due the creditor should be …
I have a fee-division agreement with another lawyer who was later suspended from practice. Can the agreement still be carried out, and how are the fees split?
The panel advised that the fee-division contract cannot be carried out after the date of the other attorney's suspension; the fees should be divided according to the fair value of services rendered be…
I'm holding a minor's personal-injury settlement check, but the child has since been placed in foster care. How should I distribute the funds?
The panel advised the attorney to file an interpleader action joining all appropriate parties, including the insurance company, so the court can determine how the settlement proceeds should be distrib…
I collected a lien pay-off owed to a client I filed suit for years ago, but I can't locate him despite calling, mailing to his last known address, and requesting a postal check. What else must I do, and what happens to the money if I can't find him?
The panel held that attempting to contact the client by telephone and telephone company records, by mail, and by postal check satisfies the attorney's obligation to exercise diligence in locating him …
My client won't authorize release of escrowed closing funds to a general contractor even though I've told her she isn't entitled to more work, and no lawsuit has been filed. What should I do with the money?
The attorney should immediately withdraw from representing the client, commence an interpleader action against the client and the general contractor, and deposit the escrowed funds with the court, bec…
My client told me to forward escrow funds to a specific address, but now family members say they're entitled to the money and that my client has permanently left the country. Can I release the funds to the family, or do I need to do something else first?
Not to the family directly. The panel held that client funds may be released only to the client, pursuant to the client's authorization, or under a court order, and that before seeking a court order t…
My client's collision insurer paid for car repairs but never contacted me about reimbursement or subrogation. Now I've received the settlement. Do I owe the insurer anything before I release the funds to my client?
No. The panel held that the attorney has no duty to a collision insurance carrier regarding disbursement of settlement funds where the carrier never contacted the attorney for reimbursement or asserte…
I elected not to put client funds in an interest-bearing account. Do I have to renew that election every year, or does one notice to the court cover me going forward?
One notice is enough. The panel held that once a lawyer elects under DR 9-102(F) not to deposit client funds in an interest-bearing account, that election remains good until the lawyer files notice of…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel 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.