1783
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| A lawyer representing a lender in collecting on a defaulted note that included a provision requiring the borrower to pay attorney's fees equal to 25% of the principal balance due may give the client/lender any portion of the 25% that exceeds the actual cost of the legal services. The 25% attorney's fee provision is "an agreed upon contract term" which provides "commercial certainty for all parties." Allowing the nonlawyer client/lender to receive a portion of the 25% does not threaten the "independent judgment of an attorney from improper nonlawyer interference," and therefore does not amount to an unethical sharing of legal fees with a nonlawyer [overruling LEOs 534, 835 and 1025 to the extent that they are inconsistent]. |