Virginia State Bar Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Virginia State Bar, with full citations and source links on every page.
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What must a Virginia lawyer do with settlement funds when a third party such as a medical provider or insurer claims a lien on them?
The lawyer must safeguard funds a third party is actually entitled to (by statute, lien, court order, or a client-signed assignment) and cannot unilaterally release disputed funds to the client. A mer…
Can a Virginia lawyer pass credit-card merchant fees on to the client, and how should those fees and chargebacks be handled with the trust account?
A lawyer may pass merchant fees on to a client who pays by credit card if the fee is disclosed and the client consents; the committee cautions against letting the bank debit the trust account and says…
Can a Virginia lawyer disburse funds from a client trust account before the deposited items have irrevocably cleared, even when the account holds funds for only one client?
No. The opinion concludes a lawyer must wait until deposited funds are irrevocably credited and cleared, with no chance of bank recall, before disbursing, and that the answer is the same whether the t…
Can a Virginia lawyer keep using a bank that freezes the whole trust account after 2:00 deposits, knowing client checks will bounce?
No. The opinion concludes that writing trust-account checks with knowledge that the bank's account-wide hold will bounce them intentionally prejudices clients in violation of Rule 1.3(c) and is a deli…
Must a lawyer give a client a medical report from the file when the doctor or an insurer who controls the report tells the lawyer not to release it?
The opinion concludes that a medical report obtained for the representation is part of the client's file under Rule 1.16(e), so on termination the lawyer must provide it; a non-client carrier or docto…
Must a criminal-defense lawyer give a former client a copy of the pre-sentence report from the file when the client asks for it to pursue habeas relief?
The opinion concludes that a pre-sentence report is part of the client's file under Rule 1.16(e), not an internal document the lawyer may withhold, so the lawyer must provide it on request, subject on…
When a client has assigned settlement proceeds to a medical provider or given it a lien, can the lawyer follow the client's later instruction to pay the money to the client instead?
No. The opinion concludes that under Rule 1.15(c)(4) a lawyer who knows the client has made a valid assignment or granted a consensual lien on settlement proceeds may not disburse those funds to the c…
Can a settlement attorney for a borrower hand original closing documents or the promissory note to the lender before the borrower's three-day right to rescind has run?
The committee declined to answer. The opinion concluded that the question turns on interpreting the federal Truth-in-Lending Act and Virginia's Wet Settlement Act, a legal issue beyond the committee's…
When a client dies before signing the will the lawyer drafted, must the lawyer turn the unexecuted will over to the estate, or can he withhold it as a confidence?
The committee concluded that, with no fees owed, the client owns the complete contents of the file, so the unexecuted will is estate property that must be returned to the deceased client's personal re…
Can a lawyer refuse to hand over a client's file until the client signs a receipt, and mail it instead?
The committee concluded that a lawyer may not condition release of the file on a signed receipt; the rule contains no such requirement, and where the client appeared in person and a limitations deadli…
When separate lawyers handle a real estate closing, what form of funds must the purchaser's lawyer use to disburse to the seller's lawyer, and who pays for certified funds?
The committee concluded that the Wet Settlement Act's strict requirements on the form of immediately disbursable funds apply even when purchaser and seller have separate counsel, so disbursement to th…
Must court-appointed counsel turn over the entire file, including personal notes and diaries, at no cost when the client later claims ineffective assistance?
The committee concluded that materials dictated or prepared for the client's specific case must be given to the client, while a diary kept as a general log across all the lawyer's clients need not be …
Does a lawyer have to keep an open client trust account if his practice rarely holds client money?
The committee concluded that a lawyer whose practice does not generate client proceeds (such as personal injury or real estate settlement funds) and who takes no advance fees need not maintain an open…
When no fees are owed, is a former client entitled to the entire file, including the lawyer's notes, internal memoranda, and multiple drafts?
The committee concluded that, where no fees are outstanding, the client is entitled to the entire contents of the file (including attorney's notes, internal memoranda, and multiple drafts), the lawyer…
What does 'applicable law' mean for an attorney's retaining lien on a client's file, and which file materials must be returned to the client?
The committee concluded 'applicable law' under DR 2-108(D) is the law of an attorney's lien for fees owed: a lawyer may assert a retaining lien on the file for unpaid undisputed fees unless withholdin…
When a client owes undisputed fees, can the lawyer condition giving the client a copy of the entire file on payment of those fees?
The committee concluded that where the fee is undisputed and the client can pay, a lawyer may assert a retaining lien on the file as security, but not where withholding would prejudice the client; eve…
Can a settlement attorney agree to a lender's request to waive certified funds and disburse on uncollected items at a real estate closing?
The committee concluded the attorney may honor the lender's waiver of certified funds only if he advises the lender that settlement proceeds must still be in one of the other forms the Wet Settlement …
Can a lawyer require the client to pay copying costs for the file's work product before releasing the file?
Where no fees are owed and no lien arises, the committee concluded the client owns the entire file, including work product purchased by paying fees, so the lawyer must surrender it and may not conditi…
Can a lawyer sign a contract agreeing to pay a client's medical provider and expert-witness fees out of the client's recovery?
The committee concluded a lawyer may advance or guarantee medical and reasonable expert-witness fees only if the client remains ultimately liable and never as a contingent fee to a witness; while cont…
When a lawyer withdraws from representing both an employer and its employees over a conflict, who is entitled to the file the lawyer created?
The committee concluded that which documents belong to the employer versus the employees is a legal question outside its province; the ethics rules only require the lawyer to return property to the pe…
Can a lawyer pay for a client's medical records after the client has moved to new counsel, if the client stays ultimately responsible?
The committee concluded it is not improper to pay the cost of medical records the lawyer requested for a client who has since retained other counsel, provided the client remains ultimately responsible…
Can a settlement attorney disburse loan funds from trust based on deposited financial instruments under the Wet Settlement Act?
The committee concluded it is not improper to disburse from a trust account under the Virginia Wet Settlement Act when the disbursements rest on deposits of the financial instruments, or instruments i…
Must a lawyer wait for settlement funds to clear the bank before disbursing them to a client, and can the firm advance the client's share from its general account?
The committee concluded that a lawyer must deposit settlement proceeds to the trust account and wait until the bank credits the funds before disbursing to a client, may not disburse cash back at depos…
Can a lawyer hold on to a client's documents as security for unpaid fees?
The committee concluded that an attorney may retain a client's warrants pending payment of fees for past services, but only if the retention does not prejudice the client and the client is not otherwi…
When an associate leaves a law firm, may the associate keep representing the firm's clients, and who is entitled to the client files?
The committee concluded it is not improper for a former associate to represent clients of the former firm if they agree, and both the associate and the firm may access the relevant files. Who keeps th…
When may a real estate settlement attorney disburse from the trust account against the buyer's and lender's checks deposited at closing?
The committee concluded a settlement attorney may disburse against funds received in the forms prescribed by Virginia's Wet Settlement Act, but disbursing against a check not in those forms before it …
May a domestic relations attorney keep deposition copies whose costs the attorney advanced until the discharged client pays, and when is advancing those costs proper?
The committee concluded an attorney may retain deposition copies for which costs were advanced, pending payment after discharge, if retention does not prejudice the client and the client is not otherw…
What should a lawyer do with a soon-to-expire redeemable airline ticket belonging to a client who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution?
The committee concluded the attorney should redeem the expiring ticket, deposit the proceeds in a trust account, and promptly advise the court of the funds. Decided under Virginia's former Code.
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Legal ethics opinions from the Virginia 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.