Stroud

James T. Stroud, Van T. Do, and their law firm Stroud & Do, appeal from the trial court’s order compelling them to release funds they wrongfully withheld from their former client, Dominick A. Tunzi, in their attempt to recover their attorney’s fees. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Respondent Dominick A. Tunzi sued his former employer and hired appellants James T. Stroud and Van T. Do to represent him in his lawsuit. In November 2002, he signed a contingency fee agreement with appellants, paying them a flat fee of $75,000 if the lawsuit settled before trial and 40 percent of any recovery if the matter went to trial. Before going to trial, he settled his lawsuit for $600,000.

After Tunzi settled his lawsuit, appellants demanded he pay them a 50 percent contingency fee of $300,000. Although appellants’ original contingency fee agreement with Tunzi entitled them to a flat fee of only $75,000 if Tunzi’s case did not go to trial, they claimed he had agreed before the settlement to modify their contingency fee agreement. The first purported modification was a handwritten, one-page document dated April 2, 2004. Signed by Tunzi, it stated: “I, Dominick A. Tunzi, promise to pay…