Subject to subsection (b) of this section, an attorney at law has a lien on: a cause of action or proceeding of a client of the attorney at law from the time the cause of action arises or the proceeding begins; and a settlement, judgment, or award that a client receives as a result of legal services that the attorney at law performs. A lien under this section attaches only if, and to the extent that, under a specific agreement between an attorney at law and a client, the client owes the attorney at law a fee or other compensation for legal services that produced the settlement, judgment, or award. A lien under this section is subordinate only to: a prior lien for wages due to an employee of the client for work related to the settlement, judgment, or award; or a lien for taxes that the client owes the State. An attorney at law may retain property subject to a lien under this section and bring an action for execution under the lien only in accordance with rules that the Supreme Court of Maryland adopts.