Mary L. Sargent, as Administratrix of the Estate of Frank C. Sargent, Deceased, Respondent v. Donald McLeod…

Summary

The Court of Appeals held that a contract for personal legal services terminates upon the attorney's death, limiting recovery to the reasonable value of services actually rendered. The attorney's statutory lien under section 475 survives death and is enforceable for that reasonable value, and a defendant who knows of the lien must retain sufficient funds to satisfy it. Accordingly, the trial judgment foreclosing the lien for a fixed contractual share was reversed and a new trial was ordered.