Dealing with client property amid unpaid fees

Commercial Litigation

By Paul B. Porvaznik

Paul B. Porvaznik is a business litigation attorney at Molzahn, Rocco, Reed & Rouse LLC and practices primarily in the areas of commercial litigation, landlord-tenant law, mechanic’s liens and post-judgment enforcement.

Posted February 12, 2015 2:50 PM

When a lawyer-client relationship implodes, the lawyer is usually left with unpaid fees. And since Rule 1.16 of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct requires a fired (or firing) lawyer to return all client papers and property, the lawyer owed the fees often has no leverage to secure payment. Enter the common-law retaining lien. It allows the lawyer to hold, or retain, his or her client’s papers until the client pays up. It’s a possessory or “passive lien,” meaning that the lawyer perfects …

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