ISBA Ethics Opinions on Financial Assistance to Clients

An attorney may not advance money to a hospital on behalf of a client for medical expenses of the client.

1. It is improper for an attorney, whose firm represents an insurance company in most of the company's insurance defense work, to be appointed the administrator of a decedent's estate and settle a wrongful death claim with the insurance company, absent full disclosure to the heirs of the estate and to the insurance company and absent their consent to such appointment.
2. It is improper for attorneys to sign a surety bond on behalf of another attorney from the same firm, when the firm has been hired by the attorney to represent him in his capacity as administrator of a decedent's estate.
3. It is not necessarily improper for a judge to appoint an attorney as administrator of an estate, even though that attorney has made financial contributions to the judge's campaign committee, and another attorney from the same firm served on the judge's campaign committee when the judge sought to be elected to his present judicial post; whether the attorney should accept such appointment depends upon whether the appointment is likely to result in a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law, and ultimately whether the acceptance of the appointment will be prejudicial to the administration of justice.