Associate Professor, St. Thomas University College of Law
MONTH-IN-BRIEF (Aug 2026)
Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Endgame Preparation: Reengaging with Your Engagement Letter
The great chess pedagogue Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch is famously quoted as saying, “Before the endgame, the Gods have placed the middlegame.” That is true of the opening as well.
Many lawyers sensibly regard voluntary withdrawal from an engagement, which is governed by Model Rule 1.16(b), as belonging to the endgame of the lawyer-client relationship, while the engagement letter is part of the opening. Permissive withdrawal is typically triggered when something goes awry in that relationship so long as the withdrawal can be accomplished “without material adverse effect” on the client’s interests. Rule 1.16(b)(1).[1] But there are other bases under Rule 1.16(b),[2] and, just as a good chess player has an eye on possible endgame positions when playing the opening, so too should a lawyer or a law firm in its engagement letter, particularly when it comes to withdrawal under Rule 1.16(b)(5). That is the lesson to be gleaned from the recent ABA Formal Opinion 523.