Cases: Ethics

Retainer Agreements/Ethics: Business & Prof. Code, § 6147 Requirements Apply To Hybrid Contingency Agreements Involving Transactional Work

Cases: Ethics, Cases: Retainer Agreements

Second District, Division 4 Faces Issues of First Impression Under § 6147.      Justice Manella, speaking for a 3-0 panel of the Second District, Divison 4, faced some first impression legal issues with respect to the reach of Business and Professions Code section 6147’s requirements over certain hybrid contingency agreements. In particular, the appellate court […]

Equity/Ethics: Ninth Circuit Reverses Substantial Fee Award To Defense Counsel Unyielding In Providing Short Extension To Plaintiff’s Counsel For Purposes Of Opposing Summary Judgment Motion

Cases: Equity, Cases: Ethics

Professional Courtesies Stressed Greatly in This Sobering Opinion.      We knew that this next case would be interesting when it led off with this quote from Charles E. Clark’s article entitled History, Systems and Functions of Pleading, published at 11 Va. L. Rev. 517, 542 (1925): Procedure “is a means to an end, not an

Arbitration: Published And Unpublished Decisions Illustrate Deference Given To Arbitrator’s Final Awards Regarding Attorney’s Fees

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Ethics

       August 31 was a day in which two decisions were issued by Courts of Appeal, both demonstrating the deference that trial and appellate courts will give to arbitration attorney’s fees awards. Miller v. Lifestyles Senior Housing Managers, Case No. C059843 (3d Dist. Aug. 31, 2010) (Unpublished).      In the first one, plaintiff lost

Attorney’s Liens In Minor Compromise Cases And Attorney Withdrawal: First District, Division 1 Tackles Some Interesting Issues

Cases: Ethics, Cases: Liens for Attorney Fees, Cases: Minors

Finds Attorney’s Lien Dispute Can Be Resolved in Minor Compromise Case and Analyzes Permissive Withdrawal Circumstances That Will or Will Not Give Rise to Quantum Meruit Recovery.      Here is an unpublished decision that faced some gnarly issues regarding jurisdictional and quantum meruit recovery issues in an attorney’s lien situation where an attorney obtained a

In The News . . . . Lawyers Having Conflicts With Class Representatives Over Incentive Payments Denied Fees In Entirety in BAR/BRI Settlement

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Ethics, In The News

  Nonconflicted Attorneys Get Award of Fees; Conflicted Attorneys Do Receive Reimbursement of Over $1.2 Million in Expenses.      In our April 26, 2009 post, we reported on Rodriguez v. West Publishing Co., 563 F.3d 948 (9th Cir. 2009), where class representative incentive agreements creating conflicts of interests required reconsideration of fee awards to both

Ethics And Settlement Involving Fee Waivers: No Ethical Ramifications From Recommending Fee Waiver Settlements

Cases: Ethics, Cases: Settlement

State Bar’s Standing Committee Issues Formal Opinion Confirming Propriety of these Settlements.      Formal Opinion No. 2009-176 of the State Bar’s Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct has concluded that (a) a lawyer does not violate any ethical obligation by recommending or conveying a fee-waiver settlement offer in a given case, and (2) a

Class Action: Class Representative Incentive Agreements That Created Conflicting Interests Required New Consideration Of Fee Award To Objectors And Class Counsel

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Ethics

Ninth Circuit Requires Reexamination of Fee Denial to Objector’s Counsel and Fee Award to Class Counsel.      For the plaintiff class action practitioners out there which follow our blog, the next decision is must reading. Not only does it highlight the fiduciary and ethical duties involved in the process, but counsels that incentive agreements should

Out-of-State Attorneys: Don’t Despair—Ninth Circuit Holds You Can Get Paid As A Consultant Even Though You Are Not California Licensed Or Not Admitted Pro Hac Vice

Cases: Ethics, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Holding Draws A Sharp Dissent; Opinion Also Discusses Lodestar and Sufficiency of Fee Substantiation.      The next case should spur the interest of non-California lawyers wishing to do limited consultation or limited co-counseling with California lawyers in California federal courts. Even if you are not licensed in California or do not obtain pro hac vice

Attorney’s Fee Ethics: Orange County Law Article Covers Wide Range Of Topics

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Ethics, Cases: Liens for Attorney Fees, Cases: Retainer Agreements

February 2009 Article by Carole Buckner Covers Many Ethical Issues.      In the February 2009 edition of the Orange County Lawyer, Carole J. Buckner writes an article, “Ethics Opinions Provide Guidance in Resolving Attorneys’ Fee Issues,” covering a wide-ranging array of ethical issues relating to attorney’s fees.      Here is a synopsis of issues discussed

Ellen Peck’s January 2009 Article In California Bar Journal Has Nice Tips For Recovering Fees in Contingency, Limited Partner, Executor, and Client Fee Sharing Representations

Cases: Ethics, Cases: Probate, Cases: Quantum Meruit, Cases: Referral Agreements, Cases: Retainer Agreements, CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION

  Ms. Peck Reviews Stroud, Shimko, Miller, and Strong Decisions.      Ellen R. Peck, a former State Bar Court judge and Encino solo practitioner, has written a fine article in the January 2009 edition of the California Bar Journal with astute tips of upfront, prophylactic actions that can be taken for successfully recovering fees in

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