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Comments Off on Ethics Opinion Rejects Real Estate Broker Referral Fees
[Originally published in NYPRR April 2002] Nassau County Bar Association, Committee on Professional Ethics Opinion No. 01-9: Facts: A real estate broker writes a letter soliciting buyer and seller referrals from lawyers in exchange for a fee. The...
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Comments Off on Ethics Opinions from Other Jurisdictions
[Originally published in NYPRR April 2002] Ohio: Agreement By Law Firm to Pay ‘Promotion’ Fee to Real Estate Agency An Ohio law firm proposed to pay an annual fee to a real estate agency and to discount its fees to the agency’s customers in...
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Comments Off on Conflicts and Referral Fees
By Lazar Emanuel [Originally published in NYPRR November] In Ethics Opinion 745, the NYSBA considered the issue of referrals to another lawyer by a lawyer who is disqualified from continuing a representation by virtue of a conflict of interest. The...
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Comments Off on Nassau Bar Committee Okays Tie with AmeriCounsel.com
By Lazar Emanuel [Originally published in NYPRR April 2001] In Nassau County Bar Op. 01-04 (2/13/2001), the Professional Ethics Committee of the Bar Association of Nassau County issued an important opinion giving the green light, subject to a few...
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Comments Off on Charging Interest on Unpaid Fees or Disbursements
By Roy Simon [Originally published in NYPRR September 2000] May lawyers ethically charge interest on unpaid legal fees? May they charge interest on unpaid disbursements in contingent fee cases? In a pair of opinions issued in July 2000, the ethics...
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Comments Off on AmeriCounsel: Guaranteed Legal Services at Flat Fees on Internet
By Roy Simon [Originally published in NYPRR June 2000] Suppose you are a potential client shopping for legal services over the Internet. You find www.AmeriCounsel.com, a company affiliated with Harvard Law School Professor Arthur Miller. Topping the...
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Comments Off on Hybrid Fee Agreements: Okay or No-kay?
By Roy Simon [Originally published in NYPRR March 2000] Hourly rate fee agreements are the traditional lawyer-on-top “missionary position” of commercial litigation. Contingent fee agreements are the equivalent standard in personal injury matters,...
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Comments Off on Improper Provisions in Retainer Agreements
By Lazar Emanuel [Originally published in NYPRR October 1999] N.Y. State Opinion 719 (1999) The Rules of the Appellate Division require that all attorneys in domestic relations matters “execute a written agreement with the client setting forth in...
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Comments Off on Lawyer May Bill Hourly Rate When Appearing as Witness
By Lazar Emanuel [Originally published in NYPRR June 1999] N.Y. State Bar Op. 714 (1999) Question: May a lawyer accept compensation from a former client for time in preparing to testify in a matter and for testifying as a witness? Answer: Yes, provided...
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Comments Off on Collecting Your Fees After Discharge
By Sharon Stern Gerstman [Originally published in NYPRR April 1999] Larry Jones, your neighbor and good friend, a loyal client over many years, has retained you in three pending matters. In the last two weeks, you’ve detected an increasing tension in...
