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"DC. Court of Appeals Says Upfront Fees Don't Belong to Lawyer"

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

On the Blog of Legal Times, D.C. Court of Appeals Says Upfront Fees Don't Belong to Lawyer, involving the case of In re Mance, 06-BG-890 (D.C. September 24, 2009). Important case following In re Sather from Colorado: We begin our analysis by describing the nature of a flat fee. A flat fee is one that “embraces all work to be done, whether it be relatively simple and of short duration, or complex and protracted.” Iowa Sup. Ct. Bd. of Prof’l Ethics and Conduct v. Apland, 577 N.W.2d 50, 55 (Iowa 1998) (quoting ABA Comm. on Ethics and Prof’l Responsibility, Informal Op. 1389 (1977)). A flat fee is different from an engagement retainer, which “is a fee paid, apart from any other compensation, to ensure that a lawyer will be available for the client if required...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on September 24, 2009 (boomark / email).