Also known as: substantial gifts · material gift
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A transfer of property or assets of significant monetary value from a client to a lawyer or a person related to the lawyer. The transfer triggers an ethical prohibition on the lawyer soliciting the gift or preparing an instrument to effect it unless the recipient is related to the client by blood, marriage, or a close familial relationship.
Sydney Santos asked her lawyer Steven Silva to prepare a deed transferring a 150-acre parcel valued at over $600,000 to Silva's first cousin Elle. Steven Silva drafted the instrument even though Elle had no blood or marital tie to Sydney Santos and their volunteer relationship did not rise to a close familial bond. The preparation violates the rule because the gift is substantial and the recipient is not related to the client.
Sarah Sullivan directed her lawyer Scott Summers to include a $750,000 manuscript collection in her will for Summers himself. Summers and Sullivan had collaborated for fifteen years and shared family vacations but were not related by blood or marriage. Summers may not prepare the testamentary instrument because the bequest qualifies as a substantial gift to a non-related recipient.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A gift qualifies as substantial when it has significant monetary worth, such as a parcel valued over $600,000 or a manuscript collection appraised at $750,000. The rule focuses on the size of the transfer to protect clients from potential overreaching. No fixed dollar threshold exists. The determination turns on the facts of each case.
A lawyer may prepare the instrument only when the recipient is related to the client by blood, marriage, or a close familial relationship. The exception requires an intimate bond akin to family, not merely friendship or professional ties. The lawyer must decline preparation when the relatedness requirement is not met.
No. The rule bars preparation of the instrument regardless of who first suggested the gift. The prohibition protects the client from any appearance of influence arising from the lawyer-client relationship. Even unsolicited requests require the lawyer to decline when the recipient is not related to the client.