In Louisiana . . . Is it ethical/legal for a lawyer to stop
representing a client of three years because the client gets behind in
payment of legal fees?

Dear lomax001-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. You
will note our disclaimer at the bottom of this page that we cannot
provide legal advice in this forum. What I am providing you with is a
matter of published law that is accessible to the public for
informational purposes.

Rule 1.5 of the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional
Conduct requires only that a lawyer charge fees that are reasonable,
and that he refrain from making certain agreements or arrangements
with clients for payment.

AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION MODEL RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
http://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/aba/current/ABA_CODE.HTM#Rule_1.5

Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.5 is modeled after the
ABA rule and says essentially the same thing.

LOUISIANA RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
http://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/la/code/LA_CODE.HTM#Rule_1.5

In addition, Rule 1.8(e)(1) and (e)(2) says that a lawyer (1)??MAY
advance court costs and expenses of litigation, the repayment of which
may be contingent on the outcome of the matter; and (2) a lawyer
representing an indigent client MAY pay court costs and expenses of
litigation on behalf of the client.?, however the rule does not
mandate that the lawyer is under any legal or ethical obligation to do
so.

Finally (and most importantly), Rules 1.16(5) and 1.16(6) allows a
lawyer to decline or terminate representation if:

?(5) the client fails substantially to fulfill an obligation to the
lawyer regarding the lawyer's services and has been given reasonable
warning that the lawyer will withdraw unless the obligation is
fulfilled.?

and/or?

?(6) the representation will result in an unreasonable financial
burden on the lawyer or has been rendered unreasonably difficult by
the client?

ABA MODEL RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
http://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/aba/current/ABA_CODE.HTM#Part%201%20-%20Client%20Lawyer%20Relationship

In summary, if ?the scope of the representation and the basis or rate
of the fee and expenses for which the client will be responsible?
(Rule 1.5(b) ) is communicated to the client, and the client fails to
meet this obligation, there appears to be no legal or ethical
obligation on the part of the lawyer to continue or agree to provide
services ?pro bono? (without compensation) against his will. If you
have a complaint against an attorney I recommend you contact the
Louisiana Bar Association for professional advice.

LOUISIANA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
http://www.lsba.org/home1/

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher




INFORMATION SOURCES

ABA MODEL RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
http://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/aba/current/ABA_CODE.HTM#Part%201%20-%20Client%20Lawyer%20Relationship

LOUISIANA LEGAL ETHICS
http://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/la/narr/index.htm#1.15
http://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/la/narr/LA_NARR_1_16.HTM#1.16

FINDLAW
?Creating a Representation Agreement with Your Lawyer?
Cached document
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:0KGxVGr3eT4J:public.findlaw.com/library/hiring-lawyer/representation-agreement.html+louisiana+%22lawyer+can+quit%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1


SEARCH STRATEGY


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SEARCH TERMS USED:

Lawyer

Attorney

Ethic

Obligation

Resign

Refuse

Fee

Payment

Client

Rules

Excellent.  Beyond my expectations.  Thanks for your work!

Thank you for the most generous tip! I anxiously look forward to next time.

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga