Sorted by Commenter - Ethics - State of California

No. Commenter Position 1
10 Criminal Defense Lawyers
Club of San Diego
Comment
on Behalf
of Group?
Rule 1.5 Fees for Legal Services.
[Sorted by Commenter]
Rule
Paragraph
Comment RRC Response
received and substantially underestimates the
legal work, he will certainly not be terminated
by the client. However, when the lawyer
through skill and ability has, in a short time
obtained a significant result that is not
outcome-determinative in an ongoing case,
the Rule encourages clients to terminate the
representation without cause and obtain a
refund of a substantial portion of the “flat fee”
that under this Proposal would no longer be
“the lawyer’s property” or property to which
the lawyer is entitled.
D Yes 1.5(e) This Proposed Rule puts in place a condition
that essentially makes the fee “flat” only upon
the client’s wish as the case proceeds. If the
work for the attorney is substantial, the client
will be content with the flat fee arrangement.
But if the attorney seems to be on the way to
a result that will end the case on a favorable
note for the client can pull out of the “flat fee”
contract, fire the attorney, and demand a
substantial refund.
Specifically, paragraph (e) of Rule 1.5
prohibits non-refundable retainers for legal
services except under the circumstances
outlined in subpart (1) and (2). Yet, the latter
Rule, while first stating the fee is the
attorney’s on delivery, then says the client
may be entitled to a refund prior to the
To address the commenter’s concerns but still
provide for enhanced client protection, the
Commission revised the approach to advance fee
payments in paragraph (e) of the Rule to provide as
follows:
(2) a lawyer may charge a flat fee for specified
legal services, which constitutes complete
payment for those services and may be paid
in whole or in part in advance of the lawyer
providing the services. If agreed to in
advance in a writing signed by the client, a
flat fee is the lawyer’s property on receipt.
The written fee agreement shall, in a
manner that can easily be understood by
the client, include the following: (i) the scope
of the services to be provided; (ii) the total
amount of the fee and the terms of
payment; (iii) that the fee is the lawyer’s
RRC - 4-200 1-5 - Public Comment Chart - By Commenter - XDFT1.1 (5-26-10) doc.doc Page 15 of 28 Printed: 5/26/2010
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