Practice Quiz

Paralegal

Category - Ethics

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A lawyer met a potential client to discuss the client’s situation. The potential client was the daughter of an alleged mobster and was concerned that she was about to be indicted by a grand jury. The potential client’s father had terminated her access to all bank accounts, and she had few other resources. The potential client then stated that she intended to write a book about her experience as a mobster’s daughter and that she would agree to pay the lawyer by giving him a forty-percent interest in the literary rights to the book. Can the lawyer accept the literary rights to book as his fee for representing the potential client?
  1. Yes, because literary rights as a fee are not prohibited by the rule on fees.
  2. Yes, because the literary rights involve the daughter’s story, not the attorney’s story.
  3. No, because literary rights as a fee are prohibited prior to the conclusion of the representation.
  4. No, because the literary rights offered are less than a fifty-percent interest in the book.
Explanation
Answer: C - No, because literary rights as a fee are prohibited prior to the conclusion of the representation. “Prior to the conclusion of the representation of a client, a lawyer shall not make or negotiate an agreement giving the lawyer literary or media rights to a portrayal or account based in substantial part on information relating to the representation.” Model Rule 1.8(d). Answer C is the best choice because it correctly reflects the language of the Model Rule. Answer A is not the best choice because it incorrectly states that literary rights are not prohibited as a fee. Answer B is not the best choice because the daughter’s story is information related to the representation. Answer D is not the best choice because the percentage interest does (not?) affect the prohibition on literary rights as fees.
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