Reading Room Document

Acceptance of Legal Fees by United States Attorney

United States Attorney would be prohibited by 18 U.S.C. § 205(1) from accepting an attorney's fee generated in a case that he handled while in private practice, if the lawsuit were determined to constitute a claim against the United States, and if his interest in the fee was of a contingent nature at the time he began government service. Whether a matter in litigation constitutes a claim against the United States for purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 205 depends not upon whether the United States is a plaintiff or defendant, but upon whether the United States has a significant monetary interest at stake in the lawsuit. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/23201/download.

November 4, 1982