ETHICS OPINION 325-1934

NUMBER 325 1934

Question. Is it professionally proper for an attorney to institute an action for a client on a valid claim against another client, or a friend, by arrangement between the parties, for the purpose of obtaining a judgment and the issuance of a garnishee process, so that another creditor of the proposed defendant will not be able to collect his expected judgment until after the first judgment has been paid?

Answer. In the opinion of the Committee, any attempt by trickery to prevent a creditor from enforcing his rights is professionally improper. The question, however, states that the first claim is valid, and assumes that it may be enforced by legal process. In that case, if the debtor desires to prefer one of his creditors to another, and the creditor to be preferred acquiesces, and they both consult a lawyer to accomplish that end, in the opinion of the Committee it is not professionally improper for the lawyer to carry that desire into effect by legitimate means. These conclusions are not shaken by the fact that both debtor and creditor are clients of the lawyer, nor by the fact that by such process the second creditor may be delayed in his recovery. But the lawyer should avoid permitting one client to impose on the other.