Sorted by Commenter - Ethics - State of California

. . "
"
I suggest we . . . have a comment which indicates that a fee described as a
flat fee' (as well as any other type of fee that the Commission wishes to set
forth) is not deemed by the use of that phrase to be describing a fee that is
not refundable. . . " eAugust 16, 2008 em
Sondheim);
.. it , even in the situation of a , we
should not describe the retainer as nonrefundable.
such thing as a nonrefundable retainer. . ." (August 22, 2008 email drafted
by Sapiro); and
... (Commissioner Sapiro s) statement that "there is no such thing as a
nonrefundable retainer" is, of course absolutely
wholeheartedly." (August 22 2008 email drafted by Julien).
As explained below, these comments (and the Proposal itself) demonstrate that the
members of the drafting subcommittee and certainly the professor who was the primary
drafter have little
private practice.
involvement in negotiating and drafting nonrefundable fee agreements for paying clients
and collecting or refunding these fees, for example, in criminal, immigration and
cases. If they in fact
while , they would
lawyers have been
sometimes painful
retainers are essential to the economic viability of an active criminal practice.
frankly indisputable that many individuals charged with crimes either because of their
character or economic misfortune simply do not pay their legal fees.
The Narrow
Nonrefundable Fee Arrangements That Benefit Clients.
Exception (e)(I) - "True Retainer
The authors of "The Truth " in the April 2010
California Lawyer described this type of nonrefundable retainer as "very very rare" and a
vestige of days gone by. Paragraph ee)(1) may well prohibit, for example, the longestablished
practice of charging
availability of a specific lawyer who often has exceptional qualifications if the client will
also be credited for future work done either on an hourly basis or for the amount of the
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