Effective July 1, 2025, attorneys practicing law in Maryland may no longer state that their fees are “earned upon receipt” in their engagement agreements. Under the new, amended Rule 19-301.15, “[a]n attorney shall deposit into a client trust account legal fees and expenses that have been paid in advance, to be withdrawn by the attorney only as fees are earned or expenses incurred.”
Under the current Rule 1.15, an attorney was permitted to deposit fees directly into his or her operating account if the client gave “informed consent, confirmed in writing[.]” Informed consent required that the attorney give his or her client any explanation reasonably necessary to inform the client of the material advantages and disadvantages of the proposed course of conduct and a discussion of the client’s options and alternatives. This Rule mirrored the District of Columbia Court of Appeals’ decision in In re Mance, 980 A.2d 1196 (D.C. 2009), which held for the first time that an attorney may treat fees as earned upon receipt with informed consent confirmed in writing.
Read the full article by Kelsey Williams on the Legal Ethics Blog.