Further LSC Interpretation re Ability of LSC-Funded Offices to Co-Counsel with Private Attorneys Who Recover Attorney Fees in the Case (2003)

On November 12, 1999, the Office of Legal Affairs issued an external opinion interpreting the Legal Service Corporation’s (LSC) regulation on attorneys’ fees, 45 CFR Part 1642. The issue was whether an LSC grant recipient may, consistent with the requirements of Part 1642, transfer time records relating to a former client’s case to the former client’s new private counsel, when the new counsel is seeking to recover attorneys’ fees on the client’s behalf. Based on the specific facts and circumstances of that case, we concluded that the recipient could transfer time records without violating the prohibition on claiming or collecting and retaining attorneys’ fees. This Opinion seeks to clarify the proper scope and application of that interpretive guidance.