Ethics Forum: Questions and Answers on Professional Responsibility
I am involved in a civil suit and the other side has subpoenaed my fee agreements. In addition, they are seeking the fee bills I have sent. Can I assert an attorney-client privilege?
December 03, 2020 at 12:21 PM
9 minute read
The legal fee agreement would not normally be included in the attorney-client privilege.
I am involved in a civil suit and the other side has subpoenaed my fee agreements. In addition, they are seeking the fee bills I have sent. Can I assert an attorney-client privilege?
Samuel C. Stretton. Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct have a very broad and strong confidentiality provision under Rule 1.6. That rule essentially covers anything related to the representation and greatly expands on the old confidence and secret limitations that were the basis of the statutory and common law attorney/client privilege. One would think that one's fee agreement would be confidential, but there is ample case law that indicates fee agreements are not protected by the attorney/client privilege. There appears to be no direct challenge to fee agreements under Rule 1.6 of the Rules of Professional Conduct since many of the older decisions were based on the confidential and secret limitations in the traditional attorney/client privilege. Perhaps a challenge on the basis of the broad language in Rule 1.6 would be successful.
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