Impermissible Contingent Fee Provision

The Washington State Bar Association has issued a recent informal opinion concluding that it is impermissible for a lawyer to include a provision in a contingent fee case that obligates the client to pay litigation expenses advanced by the lawyer if the client rejects a reasonable offer of settlement. The opinion views such a provision as a violation of the otherwise unrestricted authority of the client to accept or reject an offer embodied in Rule 1.2(b). (Mike Frisch)