RI-395
September 8, 2026
SYLLABUS
Lawyers may accept gifts or gratuities from clients, provided the lawyer does not solicit the gift and the gift is independent of the legal services provided.
TEXT
A lawyer represented a client in an immigration matter and was paid an attorney fee at the initiation of representation. After a successful resolution of the matter and unsolicited by the lawyer, the client wishes to give the lawyer a gratuity of $1,000. The lawyer asks whether they can ethically accept the gift.
Are gifts or gratuities considered part of the fee for purposes of MRPC 1.5?
This Committee addressed the acceptance of a gift by a lawyer in Ethics Opinion CI-1011 (1984), under the Michigan Code of Professional Responsibility in effect at that time. The opinion concluded that acceptance of an unsolicited gift from a client, where the client had no obligation to give the gift, was not considered an additional fee.
In that matter, the lawyer represented a client in a successful wrongful death claim and received the maximum one-third contingent fee pursuant to court rule. Subsequently, unsolicited by the lawyer, the client attempted to gift the lawyer an automobile, in further appreciation for the work done for them. “The lawyer advised the clients that they had no obligation to give him the automobile and that he had been fully paid out of the recovery from the lawsuit.”
This committee opined that the prior version of Michigan Rule of Professional Conduct (MRPC) 1.5,1 which prohibits charging or collecting an excessive fee, was not implicated because the facts showed that the transfer of the automobile would be independent of the legal services provided. Therefore, the lawyer could consider the automobile a gift and not part of the contingent fee.
Under the reasoning of CI-1011 (1984), an attorney may accept a gift or gratuity that is unsolicited and independent of the legal services provided, and the value of the gift or gratuity is not considered part of the attorney fee.2 Memorializing the gift in writing is recommended to ensure the giver is giving the gift voluntarily and thereby preclude any concerns over what could appear to be an excessive fee under MRPC 1.5(a), or, in the case of domestic relations and criminal actions, a prohibited contingency fee under MRPC 1.5(d).
May the lawyer effectuate a substantial gift to the lawyer?
When a substantial gift3 requires the preparation of legal instrument(s), the lawyer may not draft the legal instruments or otherwise engage in the legal activities required to effectuate the substantial gift from the client to the lawyer unless the donor is related to the lawyer, under MRPC 1.8(c):
A lawyer shall not prepare an instrument giving the lawyer or a person related to the lawyer as parent, child, sibling, or spouse any substantial gift from a client, including a testamentary gift, except where the client is related to the donee.
CONCLUSION
Unsolicited gifts or gratuities are not considered part of the legal fee if the gift is independent of the legal representation.
1. DR 2-106(A).
2. See also, Comment to MRPC 1.8.
3. Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers § 127 (2000)