April 2022: Worried or Wondering?
You’ve been busy focusing on what matters most. We have been handling the rest. Here is a summary of some of the more interesting or frequently asked questions we received …
New Advisory Opinion on a Lawyer’s Use of Percentage-Based Fees in Representing Succession Representatives
On August 25, 2021, the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association published Public Opinion 21-RPCC-22 providing guidance on a lawyer’s use of a percentage-based fee …
Bad Billing: Lawyer Breaches Fiduciary Duty By Failing To Bill In Accordance With Provisions of The Fee Agreement
On November 12, 2021, the Tennessee Court of Appeals held that a lawyer breached his fiduciary duty to his client by failing to bill in accordance with the provisions of …
May a Lawyer Bill a Client for the Work of an Unpaid Intern?
Yes, according to a recent ethics advisory opinion from the New York State Bar Association. See N.Y. State Bar Assoc’n Ethics Op. 1090 (2016). The issue considered by the New York …
Billing Bad: Charging Client for Watching TV Draws Suspension
The Supreme Court of Tennessee recently imposed a one-year suspension on Knoxville lawyer Yarboro Sallee for billing her client for watching TV. See Sallee v. Tn. Board of Prof’l Resp., No. E2014-01062-SC-R3-BP (Jul. …
Should Fixed Fees Paid Up-Front be Placed in Trust?
That issue is currently under consideration by the LSBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee. Under current Louisiana Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(f)(2), a lawyer earns a fixed fee when the …
Lawyer Fee Requests: Be Careful What You Ask For
A judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York refused to award BigLaw firm Mayer Brown LLP, $126,026.88 in requested fees for representing a prevailing party in …