The New York City Bar Association`s Professional Ethics Committee is dedicated to helping New York lawyers understand and fulfill their ethical obligations. The Committee operates the Bar Association`s long-standing hotline and answers questions from New York-licensed attorneys about their own future conduct under the New York Code of Professional Conduct. The Committee also issues formal and informal opinions that provide general guidance to New York lawyers regarding their obligations under the New York Code of Professional Conduct. The Committee`s competence is limited to the interpretation of the New York Code of Business Conduct. We do not answer questions that require interpretation of substantive law, including questions about the unauthorized exercise of rights. Written confirmation must be obtained or provided “at the time the individual gives verbal consent” or “within a reasonable time thereafter”. Rule 1.0(e). According to the rules, this confirmation can take one of the following forms: In the event of termination of representation, the lawyer must take reasonable steps to avoid any foreseeable interference with the client`s rights, including reasonable notice to the client, by giving the client time to engage another lawyer, handing over all documents and property, to which the Customer is entitled, prompt refund of any prepaid portion of a fee that has not been earned and that complies with applicable laws and regulations. Please note that the following questions and answers are intended to assist the Bar Association in identifying relevant solicitation and solicitation issues and disciplinary rules. In all cases, the lawyer is advised to consult the rules of professional conduct to determine whether the applicable rules are being followed. Please also note that some attorney solicitation rules are subject to ongoing litigation.
See Alexander v. Cahill, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53602 (N.D.N.Y. 2007) (appeal pending) The Committee does not comment on the likely outcome of a dispute with a challenge to the rules that could affect your obligations. A review of inquiries to the Committee`s Ethics Hotline showed that some legal ethics issues arise more frequently than others. Accordingly, the Committee prepared a series of responses to frequently asked questions on the general construction of the Bar Association. The answers provide only an introduction to the topics discussed. Before taking action, a lawyer should conduct further research and consult at least relevant court decisions, formal committee opinions, and opinions from the professional ethics committees of the New York State Bar Association, the New York County Bar Association, and the Nassau County Bar Association. Rule 1.16(e).
In addition, in the event of a dispute, court approval is of course required under the applicable Rules of Procedure, see, for example, N.Y. C.C.P.L.R. 321(b), which have been included in the Rules. See Rule 1.16(d) (“If permission to leave to leave the employment relationship is required by the rules of a court, a lawyer in a case before that court may not leave the employment relationship without its permission. By court order, the lawyer shall continue the representation notwithstanding the important reasons justifying the cessation of the representation. »). Additional rules for the identification of a practice or specialty, as well as letterheads, signs and other professional notices, are set out in Rules 7.4 and 7.5, respectively. “Because privilege is such a powerful weapon, ethics committees and courts have limited the circumstances in which it can be exercised.” New York County 678; see also Shoe Show, Inc. v. Launzel, No.
92-CV-2794, 1993 WL 150322, p. *1 (E.D.N.Y. 3. May 1993) (“An exception to counsel`s right to privilege may be found at the discretion of the court if the client has clearly indicated: (1) the need for the documents, (2) the harm that would result from the denial of access to the documents, and (3) the inability to pay attorneys` fees or file an adequate deposit”). The exact scope of the lawyer`s right to assert a right of retention raises legal questions. See N.Y. City 82-74. See generally ABA/BNA Lawyers` Manual on Professional Conduct 41:2102-2111 (1992); Rotker v. Rotker, 195 Misc. 2d 768, (N.Y.Sup. Ct., Westchester County 2003). The following questions and answers are intended to assist the Bar Association in identifying relevant issues and disciplinary rules related to solicitation and solicitation.
In all cases, lawyers are advised to consult the New York Rules of Professional Conduct to guide their work in legal practice. Rule 1.16(c)(5). The requirement that the client “deliberately neglect” an obligation to pay fees and expenses means that the breach must have been deliberate, not accidental, and that it was not negligible in amount or duration. See N.Y. State 598 (1989). In this context, a number of courts and ethics opinions have concluded that before revoking non-payment of fees, a lawyer must first ask the client to comply with his or her payment obligations and warn him or her that the lawyer will resign if the fees are not paid. See ABA/BNA Lawyers` Manual on Professional Conduct 31:1108 (2006); see also N.Y. State 598 (1989) (counsel must “clearly inform client of wish to resign”).
