Sorted by Commenter - Ethics - State of California

No. Commenter Position 1
37 Santa Clara County Bar
Association (Christine
Burdick)
Comment
on Behalf
of Group?
Rule 1.5 Fees for Legal Services.
[Sorted by Commenter]
Rule
Paragraph
RRC - 4-200 1-5 - Public Comment Chart - By Commenter - DFT3.1 (10-21-09)RD-KEM-AT-RD.doc
Comment RRC Response
slim.
Non-refundable retainers are often made by
savvy legal consumers in arms-length
transactions. The consumer has the
opportunity to reject or negotiate a different
contract.
A Paragraph (f) should read: “A lawyer shall not
make an agreement for, charge, or collect a
non-refundable fee, or non-refundable
retainer, except that a lawyer may make an
agreement for, charge or collect a true
retainer fee that is paid solely for the purpose
of ensuring the availability of the lawyer for
the matter”.
Comment [2] should explain the differences
between an advance fee, flat fee, a non-
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.
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
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