Informal Opinion Number: 930085
Rules: 1.8
Client-Lawyer Relationship
Conflict of Interest: Prohibited Transactions
QUESTION: May attorney enter into a contingent fee arrangement to collect on final judgment which was entered in a domestic relations case? Because payments to client as a result of collection action will be in installments over a lengthy period, may attorney require that client irrevocably designate attorney as payee of the payments? ANSWER: The contingent fee arrangement is not prohibited. The irrevocable assignment implicates Rule 1.8(a) on conflicts of interest.
Informal Opinions are ethics advisory opinions issued by the Office of Legal Ethics Counsel to members of the Bar about Rule 4 (Rules of Professional Conduct), Rule 5 (Complaints and Proceedings Thereon), and Rule 6 (Fees to Practice Law) pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 5.30(c). Written summaries of select Informal Opinions are published for informational purposes as determined by the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri pursuant to Rule 5.30(c). Informal opinion summaries are advisory in nature and are not binding. These opinions are published as an educational service and do not constitute legal advice.
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