Opinion
AF 09-0688
03-09-2022
IN RE THE RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
ORDER
At the request of the Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA), and in recognition of MLSA's desire to continue and expand the Montana Eviction Intervention Program to assist clients facing eviction, we issue the following Order to clarify M. R. Pro. Cond. 1.8(e). Our interpretation of Rule 1.8(e), which prohibits lawyers from providing financial assistance to a client in connection with pending or contemplated litigation, except in specific circumstances, also includes the following:
When a non-profit organization providing free legal aid to indigent clients has received donations or other funding to provide humanitarian aid to persons in need, such as financial assistance to pay for housing, food, clothing, shelter, or transportation, the organizations use of such donation or other funding to provide humanitarian aid to its clients or clients' families shall not be deemed a violation of M. R. Pro, Cond. 1.8(e).
IT IS ORDERED that this clarification shall take effect immediately and shall remain in effect until further order of this Court.
This Order shall be posted on the Court's website. In addition, the Clerk is directed to provide copies of this Order and the attachment to the State Law Library, to Todd Everts, Shana Harrington, and Karl Krempel at Montana Legislative Services, to Bethany Ahrens and the Thomson Reuters Rules department at Thomson Reuters, to Patti Glueckert and the Statute Legislation department at LexisNexis, and to the State Bar of Montana, with the request that the State Bar provide notice of this clarification on its website and in the next available issue of the Montana Lawyer.