Cases: Retainer Agreements

California Supreme Court Holds That Public Entities May Compensate Private Counsel By Means of Contingent-Fee Agreements –- With Qualifications

Cases: Retainer Agreements

 The Court Sets Forth Specific Guidelines to Avoid Compromising Ethical Considerations.      On June 27, 2010, we posted about the fact that Louisiana and Wisconsin are two states that do not allow the attorney general to hire a private attorney for a contingency fee.  This limitation is proving to be especially significant in Louisiana, in the […]

Retainer Agreements: Modification Of Retainer Agreements—New Proposed Rules Of Professional Conduct May Require Fletcher-Like Disclosures

Cases: Retainer Agreements

Carole J. Buckner Surveys Recent Developments in May 2010 Orange County Lawyer Article.      Carole J. Buckner, a Special Assistant United States Attorney, an Adjunct Professor at Western State College of Law, and Chair of the California State Bar’s Committee on Professionalism and Conduct (COPRAC), has written an article aptly entitled “Modification of Lawyer-Client Fee

Retainer Agreements: Diane Karpman Has Some Nice Reminders In February 2010 Edition of the California Bar Journal

Cases: Retainer Agreements

       Diane Karpman, a legal ethics expert, has the following reminders for “tuning up” attorney-client retention agreements: Lawyers should consult the State Bar fee forms on the California State Bar website, because they represent the “gold standard”—tested, blessed and familiar to fee arbitrators. Include a disclaimer of any guarantee, result or successful outcome. Specifically

Retainer Agreements: January 2010 Article in The California Lawyer Has MCLE Article on Mandatory Fee Arbitration

Cases: Retainer Agreements

Sample Retainer Arbitration Clause Is Also Included.      In our 2009 year end summary (Part 2 of 2), we examined the California Supreme Court’s decision in Schatz v. Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory LLP, 45 Cal.4th 557 (2009), which examined the interplay between the California Arbitration Act and the Mandatory Fee Arbitration Act. It

Mike And Marc’s Top Twenty Decisions For 2009

Cases: Consumer Statutes, Cases: Liens for Attorney Fees, Cases: Retainer Agreements, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Section 998, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Part 2 of 2: Second Ten Grouping—Nos. 1-10.      We already gave you our top 11-20 decisions previously this month.      As noted in an earlier post, we have accumulated our “top 20” attorney’s fees decisions, recognizing that we limit the list to published decisions and that the order reflects nothing about the importance of

Three-Fer From Recent California And ABA Monthly Magazines/Papers

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Insurance, Cases: Retainer Agreements, Cases: Settlement, Off Topics

  No. 1: Ellen Peck Reviews “Fees, Fee Agreements & Arbitrations” in December 2009 Edition of CALIFORNIA BAR JOURNAL.      Ellen R. Peck, an Escondido sole practitioner and former State Bar Court judge, made these points in her recent California Bar Journal article: Except in limited circumstances, most private attorneys have to notify clients they

Law Receivable Collection: Don’t Use An Associate To Collect Fees If You Want To Recover Prevailing Party Attorney’s Fees Under Retainer Fees Clause

Cases: Retainer Agreements

Second District, Division 8 Reinforces the Lesson in Recent Unpublished Decision.      In Law Offices of Nejadpour & Associates v. Gonzalez, Case No. B212803 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Nov. 9, 2009) (unpublished), a professional law corporation (PLC) successfully won a judgment for delinquent fees from a former client. The retainer agreement had a fees clause.

Retainer Agreements: LLC Managing Member Held Liable To Former Attorneys For $210,613.39

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Retainer Agreements

  First District, Division 5 Affirms Judgment Against LLC Managing Member.      LLC managing member signed a retainer letter with an affiliated management company and paid litigation attorneys through checks drawn on dba accounts, before deciding to terminate the attorneys having a sizable receivable. After a lot of procedural and lower court tussles, attorneys finally

Retainer Agreements: Quantum Meruit Award of $22,670.24 To Discharged Contingency Fee Attorney, After Offsets, Is Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Quantum Meruit, Cases: Retainer Agreements

Fourth District, Division 2 Construes “Recovery” Fee Retainer Language Against Drafting Attorney.      The next decision demonstrates that practitioners need to be careful how they draft retainer agreements. Because the drafter is usually an attorney, any ambiguity will likely be construed in favor of the client. That is what occurred in the next case, involving

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