As one appellate jurist wisely observed, "All too often attorney fees become the tail that wags the dog in litigation." Deane Gardenhome Assn. v. Dentkas, 13 Cal.App.4th 1394, 1399 (1993). This fundamental truth is one of the principal reasons that inspired our weblog. We have found that litigation over such issues as what party is […]
FORMAL OPINION NO. 2008-175 1. When a client instructs successor counsel not to disclose a settlement to a prior counsel with a valid lien, successor counsel must advise the client of the adverse ramifications of concealing the settlement, including
Rule 2-200. Financial Arrangements Among Lawyers (A) A member shall not divide a fee for legal services with a lawyer who is not a partner of, associate of, or shareholder with the member unless: (1) The client has consented in writing thereto after a full disclosure has been made in writing that a division of
Civil Code 1717. (a) In any action on a contract, where the contractspecifically provides that attorney’s fees and costs, which areincurred to enforce that contract, shall be awarded either to one ofthe parties or to the prevailing party, then the party who isdetermined to be the party prevailing on the contract, whether he orshe is
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Marc Alexander is of counsel in the Santa Ana office of AlvaradoSmith APC, and a member of the Firm’s litigation department. He has over 30 years of experience in bench and jury trials, binding arbitrations, judicial references, mediations, and appellate work in state and federal courts in California. Mr.
