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Can lawyers provide clients with financial assistance for lawsuits?
answer:
In Washington State, a lawyer cannot, “while representing a client in connection with contemplated or pending litigation, advance or guarantee financial assistance to a client, except that:
(1) a lawyer may advance or guarantee the expenses of litigation, including court costs, expenses of investigation, expenses of medical examination, and costs of obtaining and presenting evidence, provided the client remains ultimately liable for such expenses; and
(2) in matters maintained as class actions only, repayment of expenses of litigation may be contingent on the outcome of the matter.
Washington State Court Rules: Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.8(e) (emphasis added).
THE POLICY:
According to the Washington State Rules of Professional Conduct, the policy for this financial-assistance limitation is as follows:
Lawyers may not subsidize lawsuits or administrative proceedings brought on behalf of their clients, including making or guaranteeing loans to their clients for living expenses, because to do so would encourage clients to pursue lawsuits that might not otherwise be brought and because such assistance gives lawyers too great a financial stake in the litigation.
Id. at Rule 1.8 (comment 10) (internal citation omitted).
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