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NYLER Archive •
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Comments Off on How to Lose Your Legal Fee, Part 1: Excessive Fees
By Ronald C. Minkoff For the most part, lawyers in New York are free to set their own fees. Except for particular areas where specific court or ethics rules govern—most notably, personal injury and medical malpractice—lawyers have wide latitude in setting...
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Comments Off on Dividing a Fee with a Per Diem Lawyer
By Richard M. Maltz There is no ethical duty for a law firm to disclose to a client the difference between an associate’s billing rate and the hourly cost of the associate to the firm. In contrast, a law firm (“Hiring Firm”) that utilizes a per diem...
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Comments Off on Excessive Fees Revisited: Enforcement of Lucrative Retainers After “Lawrence”
By Richard M. Maltz It has long been the rule in New York that when a client challenges a legal fee after a representation has ended the burden is on the lawyer to establish the fee was not unconscionable. Stated another way, the lawyer must prove the fee...