## Facts

- Charles Wrennon Wallace executed a statutory will naming his wife, Ruth Pearl Brink Wallace, as executrix and naming Jacqueline Mae Goldberg as attorney for the executrix and the estate.
- At the time, La. R.S. 9:2448 provided that an attorney designated in a will could be removed by the executor only for “just cause.”
- After Wallace died (March 9, 1981), Ruth Wallace probated the will, qualified as executrix, and sought to discharge Goldberg and retain counsel of her choosing.
- The executrix filed a rule to show cause seeking (1) a declaration that La. R.S. 9:2448 was unconstitutional and (2) recognition of her authority to discharge the designated attorney.
- The executrix argued the statute conflicted with the Louisiana Supreme Court’s Rules of Professional Conduct, particularly Rule 1.16(a)(3), which requires a lawyer to withdraw when discharged by the client.
- The district court denied relief, and the court of appeal declined supervisory review.
- The Louisiana Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether the legislature could restrict discharge of testamentarily designated counsel in a manner inconsistent with the court’s disciplinary rules.

## Issues

1. Whether La. R.S. 9:2448’s “just cause” limitation on an executor’s removal of a will-designated attorney is unconstitutional because it conflicts with Rule 1.16(a)(3) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
2. Whether the statute impermissibly intrudes on the Louisiana Supreme Court’s exclusive authority to regulate the practice of law and the attorney–client relationship under separation of powers.

## Decision

- The Louisiana Supreme Court held La. R.S. 9:2448 unconstitutional to the extent it conflicted with the Rules of Professional Conduct, including Rule 1.16(a)(3).
- The court recognized the executrix as the attorney’s client for purposes of estate administration and held she could discharge the lawyer without showing “just cause.”
- The court set aside the lower courts’ refusal to grant relief and allowed the executrix to retain counsel of her own choosing.

## Legal Principles

- Regulation of the practice of law, including the attorney–client relationship and lawyer discipline, is an exclusive judicial function under the Louisiana Constitution’s separation of powers.
- The Louisiana Supreme Court’s Rules of Professional Conduct have the force and effect of substantive law governing attorney conduct and client rights in the attorney–client relationship.
- Under Rule 1.16(a)(3), a lawyer must withdraw when discharged by the client; legislation cannot impose conditions that materially conflict with that rule.
- A testamentary designation of an attorney does not convert the decedent into the continuing “client” after death; the executor becomes the client in administering the estate and holds the prerogative to select and terminate counsel.

## Conclusion

The Louisiana Supreme Court invalidated the statutory “just cause” limitation on discharging a will-designated attorney, holding that court-promulgated professional conduct rules control the attorney–client relationship and that an executrix may discharge designated counsel and hire counsel of her choice.


Succession of Wallace, 574 So. 2d 348 (La. 1991)