Sorted by Commenter - Ethics - State of California

No. Commenter Position 1
Comment
on Behalf
of Group?
Rule 1.5 Fees for Legal Services.
[Sorted by Commenter]
Rule
Paragraph
18 Jenness, Evan A. D 1.5(f) would prohibit a common form of
retention in criminal cases and could result in
many clients of limited means being unable to
hire a lawyer.
It is not the form of retainer but a lawyer’s lack
of integrity that causes over-billing, and
provision does not address that problem.
Padded hourly billing is a more widespread
problem.
The “unconscionability” standard provides a
suitable and uniform standard to use in
addressing client complaints about over-billing
and applies regardless of the form of a
retainer.
It is unclear what type of retainer is a
“nonrefundable” fee agreement within the
meaning of the proposed rule; the revisions
do not define the term.
If promoting national uniformity is a reason for
the proposed revisions then subparagraph (f)
should be rejected because it is not in the
ABA Model Rules.
RRC - 4-200 1-5 - Public Comment Chart - By Commenter - DFT3.1 (10-21-09)RD-KEM-AT-RD.doc
Comment RRC Response
been completed.
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
property immediately on receipt; (iv) that the
fee agreement does not alter the client’s
right to terminate the client-lawyer
relationship; and (v) that the client may be
entitled to a refund of a portion of the fee if
the agreed-upon legal services have not
been completed.
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