White Paper

Collections: Avoiding Issues, Mediation/Arbitration and Client Screening

 
It has been estimated that between 25% and 40% of all claims of malpractice are in response to an action to collect attorney’s fees. See James M. Fischer, External Control over the American Bar, 19 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 59 (2006). The lesson to be learned by these statistics is avoid filing an action to collect a fee. This can be done by diligently following the payment history of the client, and, if the client fails to pay in a timely manner, withdraw under Rule 1.16 to avoid further loss.1

Engagement letters can reduce fee issues if the duties and responsibilities of the parties are properly set forth. Engagement letters should be used to address the following:

- Identification of the client and client representatives.
- A description of the anticipated scope of services and the engagement, including necessary incidental services, including such things as legal research, and associated costs, and staffing.2
- Document duties regarding communications.
- Describe any limitations on services to avoid misunderstandings regarding the scope of the representation.
- Document the basis for the fee. Contingency fee must be documented, as required by Rule 1.5.
- Retainer – Type of retainer (Evergreen)
- Wavier of existing or future conflicts as permitted by Rules 1.7 and 1.9.3

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Faculty

John A. Snow

John A. Snow

Parsons Behle & Latimer

Agenda

I. Avoidance of Collection Issues
II. Mediation/Arbitration
III. Screening the Client

Faculty

John A. Snow

John A. Snow

Parsons Behle & Latimer

  • Attorney with Parsons Behle & Latimer, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Practice consists of general civil litigation, including commercial, professional malpractice, construction, and insurance coverage and defense
  • Designated in The Best Lawyers in America as Lawyer of the Year in litigation, real estate, and construction law; and designated in the areas of practice of legal malpractice defense, commercial litigation, and construction
  • Designated in Utah Business magazine’s Utah Legal Elite in the areas of business and civil litigation and construction law and as a Super Lawyer in the Mountain States in Super Lawyer Magazine
  • Former Chair of the Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee of the Utah State Bar
  • Can be contacted at [email protected] or 801-536-6772

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