In Re Mance

RUIZ, Associate Judge:

This case presents us with the question whether a “flat fee” paid in advance for legal services is to be deemed an “advance[ ] of unearned fees” that is required to be treated as property of the client under Rule 1.15(d) of the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct. The Board on Professional Responsibility (“Board”) determined that a flat fee paid in advance of services being rendered becomes the attorney’s property upon receipt, and, in the alternative, found that, even if the flat fee remains the client’s property under Rule 1.15(d), the client in this case consented to…