Q: Is it lawful for a lawyer to redirect award funds designated for a client to their lawfirm without the client's consent?
Is it lawful (impropriety/appearance of and/or unethical) for a lawyer to redirect award funds from the conclusion of litigation, designated for a client, to their law firm without the client's knowledge or consent? Especially when there are unresolved lawyer's fees, the legitimacy of which is in question. Additionally, the billed amount/hours are also in dispute.
A: No. When there is a dispute such as this, the lawyer should hold the disputed funds in the firm's IOLTA (i.e. client trust account) pending a resolution of the dispute and should not redirect those funds into the firm's operating account.
Teri A. Walter agrees with this answer
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