Financial Duties to Client Flashcards
Non-contingent fee cases must include:
how fee is calculated, what services are covered, lawyer and client’s duties. DOES NOT NEED TO BE IN WRITING
CA: agreement must be in writing UNLESS: i) under $1,000, ii) corporate client, iii) routine service for regular client, iv) emergency/impractical
Contingent Fee cases:
Must be 1) written 2) signed by client 3) contains your % of recovery, 4) what expenses are deducted from recovery, 5) whether your % is after or before expenses.
CA: includes: 6) How work NOT COVERED by contingency will be paid and 7) Lawyer’s fees are negotiable
Contingency fee limits:
None in Domestic cases and criminal cases
CA: Can have in domestic cases so long as they don’t promote dissolution of a savable marriage
Getting fired right before your contingency case trial
You get the proportion of work you provided
When are fees too high?
ABA: Fees must be reasonable (look at skill, novelty, experience, labor, result obtained)
CA: Can’t be unconscionably high
What if you have agreement that says “If you refuse settlement offer or fire me, we revert from contingency to you paying me $600/hr”
This is okay as long as the $600 is reasonable look at the facts
Double Billing
ABA says this is unreasonable and dishonest,
CA says: if fee is not unconscionable, attorney discloses at outset of relationship, and client consents
Fee splitting
Can split with lawyers in your firm, for outside lawyers must have written disclosure and client consent, division must be PROPORTIONAL to work done.
CA: Fine if fee is not unconscionable, client consent.
Can’t split with non-lawyer
partnership with non-lawyers
NOT OKAY, reciprocal referrals with other pros are ok if they are NOT EXCLUSIVE and arrangement is explained to client
Client trust account:
must hold client’s funds in a trust, cannot co-mingle funds ever, if funds are in dispute you hold the funds for them. If they are too small to cover the bank fees, you hold in an IOLTA account.
Keeping records of client property
CA: Hold records for 5 years.
Entering into business transactions with clients analysis, when is it okay?
1) transaction and terms are fair/reasonable to client, fully disclosed in writing in way that client understands 2) client is informed in writing desirability of independent counsel, chance to seek counsel on the transaction 3) client understands lawyer’s role in the transaction and gives informed consent in writing
Duty regarding how high fees can be:
Lawyer’s fees must be reasonable under ABA. CA = not unconscionable
