Just last month, we wrote about a North Carolina draft proposal that would ease the way via its ethics rules for Avvo and other on-line legal services to operate there. Now, after a joint opinion from three New Jersey Supreme Court committees, the Garden State has turned thumbs down on such law platforms, citing issues
Bring third-party funders out of “the shadows,” U.S. Chamber asks federal rules committee
Litigation funding is in the news again, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spearheading a request to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to require initial disclosure of all third-party agreements for compensation that are “contingent on, and sourced from, any proceeds of the civil action, by settlement, judgment or otherwise.”
The Chamber joined
Join ‘em if you can’t beat ‘em? NC considers ethics rule changes to aid Avvo-like services
Avvo Legal Services has been meeting with North Carolina bar regulators, resulting in a draft proposal that would amend several legal ethics rules and make it easier for Avvo to operate in the Tar Heel State, according to Prof. Alberto Bernabe, a Chicago law professor who has seen some of the relevant documents, and
NY high court enforces fee-sharing agreement, although client didn’t consent
Following an $8 million settlement in a personal injury suit, the New York Court of Appeals held that a fee-sharing agreement between two lawyers was enforceable, even though it violated ethics requirements. The court said that counsel’s failure to inform her client and obtain consent to the fee split was a “serious ethical violation,” but
For the first time, court requires “litigation funders” to be disclosed — but only in class actions
On January 26, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California became the first to mandate disclosure of litigation funding that parties in class actions receive from outside sources, under a revision to the court’s standing order applicable to all cases. The rule provides that “in any proposed class, collective or representative action, the required disclosure includes any person or entity that is funding the prosecution of any claim or counterclaim.”
Continue Reading For the first time, court requires “litigation funders” to be disclosed — but only in class actions
Unpaid legal interns’ work can be billed to clients as fees or costs, NY state bar ass’n says
In today’s soft legal services market, some aspiring members of the profession feel pressure to work for free, but the fairness of such arrangements in general has come under scrutiny. In a twist, the New York State Bar Association earlier this month said that law firms could bill clients for services provided by unpaid legal interns, as long as the amount is not excessive, and the internship program complies with applicable law.
Continue Reading Unpaid legal interns’ work can be billed to clients as fees or costs, NY state bar ass’n says
Can lawyers barter their services? Connecticut ethics opinion says “Yes.”
Bartering for goods and services seems old-fashioned, even primitive — after all, that’s why money was invented, right? But bartering might be viewed as a component of today’s “sharing economy,” which involves more-direct, Internet-facilitated interactions between consumers and providers.
A recent informal opinion of the Connecticut Bar Association Standing Committee on Professional Ethics
Billing follies — what not to do
This week’s not-to-be-missed article on lawyer folly is a jaw dropping round-up of bad billing conduct, as reported in the American Lawyer.
It’s well-known that every jurisdiction’s version of Model Rule 1.5 prohibits charging an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses. So what could lawyers have been thinking when they did things
No insurance coverage for attorneys’ fees that were ordered as a “sanction”
If you or your firm were ordered to pay a party’s legal fees as a “sanction” for professional misconduct, would your professional liability insurance cover that payment?
In a recent case, the district court for the Northern District of Illinois left a law firm high and dry, holding that the policy exclusion for sanctions meant
Legal malpractice is compulsory counterclaim in fee suit, Ohio court of appeals says
When a lawyer sues a client for unpaid fees, the client must assert any possible claim for legal malpractice as a compulsory counterclaim, the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals has held. In other words: use it or lose it. The court upheld summary judgment in favor of a lawyer whose client failed to assert