Ethics Hotline & Opinions

ETHICS DOCKET NO. 1995-01

MARYLAND STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, INC.

COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

ETHICS DOCKET NO. 1995-01

Third party financing of legal fees Prearranged through attorney

Your letter of inquiry indicates that your office has received from a lending organization in California some materials by which that organization proposes to provide financing of legal fees for a lawyer's clients pursuant to an application which the lawyer assists the client in processing. Under this proposal, the lending institution agrees to pay to your firm varying percentages of your client's legal fees and be reimbursed with interest by the client thereafter.

When your letter of injury arrived, this Committee was already considering a similar inquiry (Ethics Docket 94-51) from another Maryland attorney as to the same proposal.

References: Ethics Docket  1994-51
DISCLAIMER: Opinions of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) Ethics Committee are an uncompensated service of the MSBA. This Committee’s opinions are not binding on the Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission, MSBA or this Committee. The reader is advised that subsequent judicial opinions, revisions to the rules of professional conduct, and future opinions of this Committee may render the Opinions stated herein outdated. As such, the Committee’s opinions are advisory only and neither the Committee nor the MSBA assumes any liability whatsoever with respect thereto. Accordingly, reliance upon the opinions of this Committee is solely at the risk of the user.