Criminal defense attorneys must be aware of the rules involving fees and avoid conflicts of interest.

I have been consulted by a client about a major and expensive criminal case. The client is willing to give me a mortgage or lien on his house. Can I accept that as part of the fee?

The answer is you can, but there are certain issues that have to be addressed. This is an obvious conflict of interest since the lawyer is getting an interest in the litigation, which is normally prohibited except in the traditional contingent fee situation.