(1) The transaction and terms on which the lawyer acquires the interest are fair and reasonable to the client and are fully disclosed and transmitted in writing to the client in a manner which can be reasonably understood by the client;
(2) The client is given a reasonable opportunity to seek the advice of independent counsel in the transaction; and
(3) The client consents in writing thereto.
(b) A lawyer shall not prepare an instrument giving the lawyer or a person related to the lawyer as parent, child, sibling, or spouse any substantial gift from a client, including a testamentary gift, except where the client is related to the donee.
(c) Prior to the conclusion of representation of a client, a lawyer shall not make or negotiate an agreement giving the lawyer literary or media rights to a portrayal or account based in substantial part on information relating to the representation.
(d) While representing a client in connection with contemplated or pending litigation or administrative proceedings, a lawyer shall not advance or guarantee financial assistance to the client, except that a lawyer may pay or otherwise provide:
(1) The expenses of litigation or administrative proceedings, including court costs, expenses of investigation, expenses or medical examination, costs of obtaining and presenting evidence; and
(2) Other financial assistance which is reasonably necessary to permit the client to institute or maintain the litigation or administrative proceedings.
(e) A lawyer shall not accept compensation for representing a client from one other than the client unless:
(1) The client consents after consultation;
(2) There is no interference with the lawyer's independence of professional judgment or with the client-lawyer relationship; and
(3) Information relating to representation of a client is protected as required by Rule 1.6.
(f) A lawyer who represents two or more clients shall not participate in making an aggregate settlement of the claims of or against the clients, or in a criminal case an aggregated agreement as to guilty or nolo contendere pleas, unless each client consents after consultation, including disclosure of the existence and nature of all the claims or pleas involved and of the participation of each person in the settlement.
(g) A lawyer shall not:
(1) Make an agreement prospectively limiting the lawyer's liability to a client for malpractice; or
(2) Settle a claim for such liability with an unrepresented client or former client without first advising that person in writing that independent representation is appropriate in connection therewith.
(h) A lawyer related to another lawyer as parent, child, sibling, or spouse shall not represent a client in a representation directly adverse to a person who the lawyer knows is represented by the other lawyer except upon consent by the client after consultation regarding the relationship.
(i) A lawyer may acquire and enforce a lien granted by law to secure the lawyer's fees or expenses, but a lawyer shall not impose a lien upon any part of a client's files, except upon the lawyer's own work product, and then only to the extent that the work product has not been paid for. This work product exception shall not apply when the client has become unable to pay, or when withholding the lawyer's work product would present a significant risk to the client of irreparable harm.
Comment
Transactions Between Client and Lawyer
[1] As a general principle, all transactions between
client and lawyer should be fair and reasonable to the client. In such
transactions a review by independent counsel on behalf of the client
is often advisable. Paragraph (a) does not, however, apply to standard
commercial transactions between the lawyer and the client for products
or services that the client generally markets to others; for example,
banking or brokerage services, medical services, products manufactured
or distributed by the client, and utility services. In such transactions,
the lawyer has no advantage in dealing with the client, and the restrictions
in paragraph (a) are unnecessary and impracticable.
[2] A lawyer may accept a gift from a client, if the
transaction meets general standards of fairness. For example, a simple
gift such as a present given at a holiday or as a token of appreciation
is permitted. If effectuation of a substantial gift requires preparing
a legal instrument such as a will or conveyance, however, the client
should be advised by the lawyer to obtain the detached advice that another
lawyer can provide. Paragraph (b) recognizes an exception where the
client is a relative of the donee or the gift is not substantial.
[3] This Rule does not prevent a lawyer from entering
into a contingent fee arrangement with a client in a civil case, if
the arrangement satisfies all the requirements of Rule 1.5(c).
Literary Rights
[4] An agreement by which a lawyer acquires literary
or media rights concerning the conduct of the representation creates
a conflict between the interests of the client and the personal interests
of the lawyer. Measures that might otherwise be taken in the representation
of the client may detract from the publication value of an account of
the representation. Paragraph (c) does not prohibit a lawyer representing
a client in a transaction concerning literary property from agreeing
that the lawyer's fee shall consist of a share in ownership in the property,
if the arrangement conforms to Rule 1.5.
Paying Certain Litigation Costs and Client Expenses
[5] Historically, under the Code of Professional Responsibility,
lawyers could only advance the costs of litigation. The client remained
ultimately responsible, and was required to pay such costs even if the
client lost the case. That rule was modified by this court in 1980 in
an amendment to DR 5-103(B) that eliminated the requirement that the
client remain ultimately liable for costs of litigation, even if the
litigation was unsuccessful. The provisions of Rule 1.8(d) embrace the
result of the 1980 modification, but go further by providing that a
lawyer may also pay certain expenses of a client that are not litigation
expenses. Thus, under Rule 1.8(d), a lawyer may pay medical or living
expenses of a client to the extent necessary to permit the client to
continue the litigation. The payment of these additional expenses is
limited to those strictly necessary to sustain the client during the
litigation, such as medical expenses and minimum living expenses. The
purpose of permitting such payments is to avoid situations in which
a client is compelled by exigent financial circumstances to settle a
claim on unfavorable terms in order to receive the immediate proceeds
of settlement. This provision does not permit lawyers to "bid"
for clients by offering financial payments beyond those minimum payments
necessary to sustain the client until the litigation is completed. Regardless
of the types of payments involved, assuming such payments are proper
under Rule 1.8(d), client reimbursement of the lawyer is not required.
However, no lawyer is required to pay litigation or other costs to a
client. The Rule merely permits such payments to be made without requiring
reimbursement by the client.
Person Paying for Lawyer's Services
[6] Paragraph (e) requires disclosure of the fact
that the lawyer's services are being paid for by a third party. Such
an arrangement must also conform to the requirements of Rule 1.6 concerning
confidentiality and Rule 1.7 concerning conflict of interest. Where
the client is a class, consent may be obtained on behalf of the class
by court-supervised procedure.
Family Relationships Between Lawyers
[7] Paragraph (h) applies to related lawyers who are
in different firms. Related lawyers in the same firm are governed by
Rules 1.7, 1.9, and 1.10. Pursuant to the provisions of Rule 1.10, the
disqualification stated in paragraph (h) is personal and is not imputed
to members of firms with whom the lawyers are associated. Since each
of the related lawyers is subject to paragraph (h), the effect is to
require the consent of all materially affected clients.
Lawyer's Liens
[8] The substantive law of the District of Columbia
has long permitted lawyers to assert and enforce liens against the property
of clients. See, e.g., Redevelopment Land Agency v. Dowdey, 618
A.2d 153, 159-60 (D.C. 1992), and cases cited therein. Whether a lawyer
has a lien on money or property belonging to a client is generally a
matter of substantive law as to which the ethics rules take no position.
Exceptions to what the common law might otherwise permit are made with
respect to contingent fees and retaining liens. See, respectively, Rule
1.5(c) and Rule 1.8(i).
[9] Rule 1.16(d) requires a lawyer to surrender papers
and property to which the client is entitled when representation of
the client terminates. Paragraph (i) of this Rule states a narrow exception
to Rule 1.16(d): a lawyer may retain anything the law permits—including
property—except for files. As to files, a lawyer may retain only
the lawyer's own work product, and then only if the client has not paid
for the work. However, if the client has paid for the work product,
the client is entitled to receive it, even if the client has not previously
seen or received a copy of the work product. Furthermore, the lawyer
may not retain the work product for which the client has not paid, if
the client has become unable to pay or if withholding the work product
might irreparably harm the client's interest.
[10] Under Rule 1.16(d), for example, a lawyer would
be required to return all papers received from a client, such as birth
certificates, wills, tax returns, or "green cards." Rule 1.8(i)
does not permit retention of such papers to secure payment of any fee
due. Only the lawyer's own work product—results of factual investigations,
legal research and analysis, and similar materials generated by the
lawyer's own effort—could be retained. (The term "work product"
as used in paragraph (i) is limited to materials falling within the
"work product doctrine," but includes any material generated
by the lawyer that would be protected under that doctrine whether or
not created in connection with pending or anticipated litigation.) And
a lawyer could not withhold all of the work product merely because a
portion of the lawyer's fees had not been paid.
[11] There are situations in which withholding the
work product would not be permissible because of irreparable harm to
the client. The possibility of involuntary incarceration or criminal
conviction constitutes one category of irreparable harm. The realistic
possibility that a client might irretrievably lose a significant right
or become subject to a significant liability because of the withholding
of the work product constitutes another category of irreparable harm.
On the other hand, the mere fact that the client might have to pay another
lawyer to replicate the work product does not, standing alone, constitute
irreparable harm. These examples are merely indicative of the meaning
of the term "irreparable harm," and are not exhaustive.
