The Orange County Bar Association’s Professionalism and Ethics Committee has, in the January 2010 issue of the Orange County Lawyer, published its “2009 Ethics Round-Up” that explores the following fee issues:
- Fee arbitration provisions in attorney-client retainer letters, discussing Schatz v. Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory LLP, 45 Cal.4th 557 (2009) [contractual arbitration clause binding as long as MFAA rights preserved];
- Flat fee arrangements for appointed criminal defense counsel, discussing People v. Doolin, 45 Cal.4th 390 (2009) [flat fee arrangement can be appropriate unless some type of prejudicial deficient performance can be shown]; and
- Incentive fee arrangements with class representatives in class actions, discussing Rodriguez v. West Publishing Corp., 563 F.3d 948 (9th Cir. 2009) [incentive fee arrangements did create conflicts of interest between class counsel, the class representatives, and the other absent class members].