Formal Opinion 28.
Contingent Fees
(1954)

You have asked the Committee whether a lawyer would violate the Code of Ethics if he accepted an engagement upon a contingent basis, to collect a judgment for past due and unpaid allowances made to a divorcee in a case which he did not try.

The Committee does not see any difference between this nature of judgment and any other character of judgment, and believes that a lawyer could accept employment upon a contingent basis, provided the agreement be a fair one.

Section 12, of the Canons of Professional Ethics as contained in Washington Court Rules, provides:

"A contract for a contingent fee, where sanctioned by law, should be reasonable under all the circumstances of the case, including the risk and uncertainty of the compensation, but should always be subject to the supervision of a court, as to its reasonableness."

[See Opinion 75, RPC 1.5(d)(1)]