Opinion 1428

The Committee reviewed your inquiry concerning your obligations where you hold fees given to you by a client originally to pay fees owing to a Canadian lawyer, and now your client has instructed you not to pay them. The Committee is of the opinion that the answer to your inquiry turns on a legal question regarding ownership of the funds. The Committee is of the opinion if they belong to the client, the lawyer may not disburse them until the dispute is resolved between the client and the Canadian lawyer. Further, if the funds do not now belong to the client, the answer would be dependent upon agency law on which the Committee could render no opinion, and which, in any case, the Committee would not have sufficient facts to render any opinion.

Advisory Opinions are provided for the education of the Bar and reflect the opinion of the Committee on Professional Ethics (CPE) or its predecessors. Advisory Opinions are provided pursuant to the authorization granted by the Board of Governors, but are not individually approved by the Board and do not reflect the official position of the Bar association. Laws other than the Washington State Rules of Professional Conduct may apply to the inquiry. The Committee's answer does not include or opine about any other applicable law other than the meaning of the Rules of Professional Conduct.