Cite as: 527 U. S. 343 (1999)
Opinion of Ginsburg, J.
final disposition. See ante, at 361. It seems to me, however, that the assertion has secure support.
Like the ABA's Model Rules, the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct (1999), which apply to counsel in both Hadix and Glover, see Rule 83.20( j), provide that absent good cause for terminating a representation, "a lawyer should carry through to conclusion all matters undertaken for a client." Rule 1.3, Comment. It is true that withdrawal may be permitted where "the representation will result in an unreasonable financial burden on the lawyer," Rule 1.16(b)(5), but explanatory comments suggest that this exception is designed for situations in which "the client refuses to abide by the terms of an agreement relating to the representation, such as an agreement concerning fees," Rule 1.16, Comment. Consistent with the Michigan Rules, counsel for petitioners affirmed at oral argument their ethical obligation to continue these representations to a natural conclusion. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 43 ("[Continuing the representation] does involve ethical concerns certainly, especially in the[se] circumstance[s]."). There is no reason to think counsel ethically could have abandoned these representations in response to the PLRA fee limitation, nor any basis to believe the trial court would have permitted counsel to withdraw. See Rule 1.16(c) ("When ordered to do so by a tribunal, a lawyer shall continue representation."). As I see it, the attorneys' pre-PLRA pursuit of the civil rights claims thus created an obligation, enduring post-PLRA, to continue to provide effective representation.
Accordingly, I conclude that the Sixth Circuit soundly resisted the "sophisticated construction," 143 F. 3d, at 252, that would split apart, for fee award purposes, a constant course of representation. "[T]he triggering event for retroactivity purposes," I am persuaded, "is when the lawyer undertakes to litigate the civil rights action on behalf of the client." Inmates of D. C. Jail, 158 F. 3d, at 1362 (Wald, J., dissenting).
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