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Brandon v. Newman

The plaintiff could not enforce his attorney's lien against the defendant's personal injury settlement because the underlying retainer agreement was inexplicably entwined with an unethical fee-splitting contract.

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The question presented is whether an attorney’s unethical reward to a nonlawyer for a referral resulting in the attorney’s employment invalidates the attorney’s claim of lien against settlement proceeds. We hold that an attorney’s express employment contract1 obtained through a violation of Disciplinary Standard 13 is itself void as against public policy and therefore affirm the trial court’s forfeiture of the lien.

The following chronology in this claim for a $40,000.00 attorney’s lien is undisputed: Appellee Raymond Warren Newman, Jr. was injured in a vehicular mishap. Acting on the advice of Bobby Gay Beazley, a former member of the bar no longer authorized to practice law in Georgia,2 Newman retained Attorney #1 to pursue a tort claim against a trucking company, its driver, and its insurer. Without filing suit, Attorney #1 obtained a settlement offer from the insurer of “around $120,000,” consisting of $95,000 plus lost wages. Newman rejected this offer as too low and fired Attorney #1.

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