Formal 31.

CourtConnecticut
Connecticut Ethics Opinions Formal Opinions. Formal 31. FORMAL OPINION 31 (1988 REVISION)The Obligation to Turn Over a Client's File and the Right to Protect an Earned Legal FeeIn Formal Opinion 31, reported in Conn. Bar Journal 466 (1979), this committee considered the obligation of a discharged lawyer to turn over a client's file in a contingency fee case where (1) his fee is unpaid and (2) he had previously informed physicians that their bills would be honored when the case is settled. In resolving this issue, we held that there apparently is no self-executing lawyers' retaining lien in Connecticut. In the light of Marsh, Day & Calhoun v. Solomon, 204 Conn. 639 (1987), which holds that there is, we must reconsider our opinion. We also reconsider our opinion in the light of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Some aspects of our opinion remain intact. The client still has the right to discharge his or her lawyer without cause. Rule 1.16(a)(3) and Comment. The lawyer will be paid in quantum meruit rather than by contract. Cole v. Myers, 128 Conn. 223, 229, 21 A.2d 396 (1941). The lawyer still has the obligation in general to surrender papers to protect the client's interests in the pending case. Rule 1.6(d) and Comment. Rule 1.8(j)(1) is virtually identical to DR 5-103(A)(1) in permitting the lawyer to "acquire a lien granted by law to secure the lawyer's fee or expenses." The difference, of course, is that the lien is now "protected by law." Solomon holds that the lawyer may assert a retaining lien on the file (until he has been paid or furnished adequate security) except in "rare circumstances" where the retention of the file "injures the rights of the client." 203 Conn. at 646, 647, note 4. In distinguishing our opinion, Solomon notes that the discharged law firm apparently was willing to cooperate with subsequent counsel but that no amicable negotiations took place. We interpret this to mean that neither the client nor the subsequent counsel was willing to do...

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