The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct require attorneys to have written fee agreements and engagement letters that specify the basis or rate of the fee. These agreements generally provide additional information to assure that the client understands the arrangement. There are many areas that attorneys must consider when drafting these contracts, and the failure to do so can lead to disputes and even disciplinary actions.
This program will discuss the essential elements of fee agreements so that attorneys and law firms can avoid the common mistakes that lead to disputes., including:
- Provisions that must be in every fee agreement to comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct
- Provisions that should be in most fee agreements
- Provisions relating to communications by email, cellphone and other methods
- Provisions relating to file storage and disposal
- Provisions to address disputes relating to contingent fee agreements
- Provisions to address situations where the representation ends prematurely
- Clauses necessary for drafting flat fee agreements where the funds will not be deposited into an attorney’s IOLTA account
- And much more
All attendees will receive the course materials as a digital book.
Recorded in December 2023.