Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

It is common practice to have settlement payments go to the client trust account. This allows the attorney to monitor compliance with the settlement and know when it has been fully performed and the suit can be dismissed. Joint checks are very cumbersome, as you would have to come into the office and sign each one. The attorney cannot touch funds in his trust account for his fees and costs unless he has taken a deposit for costs and expenses, which he must deposit in the trust account and draw on as expenses are incurred, or there is an express agreement that fees may be taken from client funds on deposit in the trust account (which is generally considered a very bad practice, but not illegal). Once you get his bill, you can of course say "take it from my settlment proceeds" and he can then transfer from his trust account to his firm account, but not before. Being on an hourly fee, he also cannot assert a "charging lien" on the funds. So they are about as safe as in your own bank. If the attorney dies, his firm would still pay you. If he is a sole practitioner, another attorney would be appointed by his estate or the state bar to wrap up his practice, and the settlement records would show what is owed to you.