[textbook]Traversing the Ethical Minefield Problems, Law, and Professional Responsibility by Susan R. Martyn (z-lib.org)(1) (1)

jurisdictions. 13 Most important are a journal that records all deposits, checks, dates, and
amounts and explains each item, and a client ledger, or running balance, of all checks,
disbursements, dates, amounts, and explanations for each client. Lawyers and law firms also
should keep all bank statements and records, as well as copies of each month’s or quarter’s
reconciliation of the lawyer’s accounts with the bank’s statements.
Easy access to client funds continues to tempt lawyers. If history is any guide, you
should expect increasing regulation of your bookkeeping practices to prevent further loss to
clients.
Problems
12-6. Martyn & Fox take on a breach of contract case for a fixed fee of $50,000. After
two years of difficult litigation, Martyn & Fox asks client if the firm can switch to a
contingent fee of 40 percent of any recovery. “It’s taken us a lot more time than we
expected,” Fox intones. Any problem?
12-7. Insurance Company offers to hire Martyn & Fox to represent all of its insured
physicians in medical malpractice cases for $200,000 per case. Can Martyn & Fox accept
this arrangement? What if the offer is for $20,000 per case?
12-8. Martyn & Fox agrees to defend Client’s breach of contract action for a flat fee of
$20,000. Six months later, Client fires us, saying, “I just like the lawyers down the block
better,” and demands a refund of $15,000. What should Martyn & Fox do?
D. Fees on Termination Model Rule 1.5 RLGL §§ 40, 43, 44
Malonis v. Harrington
816 N.E.2d 115 (Mass. 2004)
GREANEY, J.
We transferred this case here on our own motion to review a judgment entered in the
Superior Court holding the defendant, Attorney Robert W. Harrington, liable to the
plaintiff, Attorney George C. Malonis, for Malonis’s reasonable attorney’s fees and
expenses. The fees and expenses were incurred by Malonis in his representation of Marc J.
Loiselle, under a contingent fee agreement, in a personal injury action against Browning-
Ferris Industries, Inc. (BFI). Loiselle discharged Malonis and retained Harrington, also
under a contingent fee agreement, to represent him. Harrington settled the case with BFI
and refused to pay Malonis’s claim for attorney’s fees and expenses. . . .
Loiselle suffered injuries on April 26, 1991, in a motor vehicle accident. The operator
of the other vehicle was an employee of BFI. Within a few days of the accident, Loiselle
retained Malonis to represent him in a personal injury action against BFI for a contingent
fee of one-third the amount of any recovery received by Loiselle. Malonis secured a tape of
the accident scene from the police; obtained Loiselle’s medical bills and records;
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