Is an attorney required to hand over all of the papers and property of a client to the attorney who has a retaining lien on them?

In New York an attorney has a general, possessory, commonlaw retaining lien upon all the papers and property of his client in his possession. (Matter of Heinsheimer, 214 N.Y. 361.) Although ordinarily an attorney may not be compelled to surrender the liened papers without payment in full, "where the retention of papers by an attorney serves to embarrass a client the attorney should be required to deliver up the papers upon receiving proper security for his compensation, because insistence upon his lien under such circumstances is not in accordance with the standard of conduct which a court may properly require of its officers." (Robinson v. Rogers, 237 N.Y. 467, 473, quoted and followed in Leviten v. Sandbank, 291 N.Y. 352, 357.)

[200 Misc. 699]