Ethics-Governance: Article: http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/2005/jan-05-bickford

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http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/2005/jan-05-bickford_miller.htm A Second Look at Nonrefundable Fees and the Ethical Requirement that Fees Be Reasonable by Nancy Bickford Miller, WSBA Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Nonrefundable fees are subject to the reasonableness requirement of Rule of Professional Conduct (RPC) 1.5 and the refund requirements of RPC 1.15, as confirmed by our Supreme Court in a recent decision and by the WSBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee in an informal opinion earlier in 2004. The Supreme Court, in an October 21, 2004, disciplinary decision, rejected the argument that a lawyer is entitled to keep a nonrefundable fee whether or not services are performed. The Court distinguished a "retainer" to secure a lawyer's availability over a period of time, as discussed in WSBA Formal Opinion 186, from a flat fee for legal services in a specific matter. Because the lawyer failed to provide the contracted services, his failure to return unearned money violated RPCs 1.5 and 1.15(d).1 Informal Opinion 2034, issued on July 2, 2004,2 states that although reasonableness is ordinarily determined when the agreement between the client and the lawyer is made, there are situations in which reconsideration may be required: In some circumstances, the reasonableness of a fee agreement must be re-evaluated because subsequent unforeseen events have so altered the relationship between the lawyer and the client that a fee agreement that was reasonable at the time the agreement was made is no longer reasonable. Examples of such subsequent events may include, but are not limited to, death of the client or lawyer, lawyer's loss of his license, or failure of lawyer to perform the contracted services. Full Article: http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/2005/jan-05-bickford_miller.htm


2006 Ethics-Governance.com