Some conclude that the practice is unethical. We are aware of none that bless the procedure. Whether a state uses the model code of the model rules appears to make no difference in the results. With respect to the confidentiality issue, the code permits disclosure of confidences and secrets necessary to establish or collect the lawyer's fee. The DR provisions is intended, we believe, for situations where a lawyer is engaged in collection action against a client over a fee.
Many states focus on obtaining the client's consent to the disclosure of confidences and secrets.
Thus the lawyer is in the position of explaining to, and arguably trying to convince the client that, giving the consent would not be adverse to the client's interests. We stated that we saw no distinction from the context of an attorney suing a client to collect a fee to the context of an insurance company submitting a bill to an outside auditor. This we now believe to be incorrect. It is now obvious that billing criteria utilized by most insurance companies require detailed information and often supporting documentation. We cautioned in that opinion that a lawyer should prepare bills limiting or eliminating confidences and secrets.