Lawyers should be allowed to help provide “basic financial assistance to indigent clients — such as money for groceries, clothes or medical supplies,” the New York City Bar Association said last week in a letter to the state’s courts. In light of the urgent need caused by the corona virus pandemic, the group is seeking
Litigation funding spotlighted in WI disclosure statute, NY ethics opinion
Early last year, the federal Northern District of California became the first court to require — by rule — that a party receiving outside litigation funding must disclose the arrangement. As we described, the rule is limited to class actions; it had been favored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which views it as
If you’re thinking of giving money to a client — think again
No matter how much empathy you feel for a client with financial woes, giving a litigation client money generally violates your state’s version of Model Rule 1.8(e). The rule provides that the only financial assistance you may give a client in connection with pending or contemplated litigation is: (1) to advance litigation expenses and