An attorney lien creates a security interest that protects the attorney's fee on discharge by the client. Cal.App.3d 745, 752. By filing notice of the lien, the attorney can cause settlement funds upon which he has a claim through such lien to be placed in a client trust account until disbursed with the client's knowledge and approval. The lien is enforceable against successor counsel and the defendant's insurer. Notice also generally gives the lienholder priority over later liens, even if the subsequent creditors had no notice of the lien.
Any security interest possessed by a referring attorney is uncertain.
A referring attorney cannot enforce a fee-sharing agreement if the client has not provided written consent to the arrangement. 37 Cal.App.4th 635, 639. It is unsettled whether a referring attorney can recover a forwarding fee if the lawyers to whom the case was referred breached an agreement to disclose the arrangement to the client and obtain his consent. Liens As noted, although often overlooked, an attorney lien is enforceable against successor attorneys. App.3d 590, 598-99.