LEO: Dividing Legal Fees  LE Op. 480

 

Dividing Legal Fees With a Nonlawyer/Corporation Directly

Collects Corporate Attorney's Fees From Third Party.

 

September 20, 1982

 

It is improper for an attorney's corporate employer or its parent company (

other than a professional corporation in either case) to directly charge

and collect legal fees from a customer of either corporation for work done

by the corporate attorney for the customer unless:

 

(1) the attorney actually receives the fee; or

 

(2) the fee is simply a reimbursement to the corporate employer, or to its

parent company, for the actual cost of the legal service provided by the

attorney.

 

[See  DR:3-102(A), ABA Informal Opinions 544 (December 31, 1962) and

1451 (June 4, 1980).]

 

Committee Opinion September 20, 1982

 

CROSS REFERENCES

 

See also LE Op. 534, LE Op. 609, and LE Op. 835.