This program is eligible for 3 hours of CLE credit in 60-minute states. In 50-minute states, this program is eligible for 3.6 hours of CLE credit. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules.
Overview
This course will provide a practical overview of how to draft clear, ethical, and enforceable fee agreements under the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct (Pa.R.P.C.). This session highlights common mistakes and offers tips for avoiding fee disputes and disciplinary complaints.
Key Topics:
- Required disclosures on scope, fees, and expenses (Rules 1.4, 1.5(b))
- Reasonable fees and documentation (Rule 1.5(a))
- Contingent fee agreements and required terms (Rule 1.5(c))
- Advance fees, retainers, and trust-account handling (Rule 1.15)
- Limited-scope representation (Rule 1.2(c))
- Referral fees and fee-splitting (Rule 1.5(e), Rule 5.4)
- Third-party payments (Rule 1.8(f))
- Refunds and proper disengagement (Rule 1.16(d))
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
- Draft compliant fee agreements for multiple fee structures.
- Apply trust-account rules when handling client funds.
- Avoid common ethical pitfalls in billing and client communication.
Co-sponsored by PBA's Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee
Faculty
Hope A. Comisky, Esq.
Hope A. Comisky is a Member of Griesing Mazzeo Law and Chair of the Firm’s Employment and Ethics &Professional Responsibility practice groups. She also serves as General Counsel for the Firm, handling professional responsibility matters and risk management initiatives. Hope is a top-ranked employment attorney and an experienced arbiter with over thirty-five years of employment and litigation experience. She counsels clients on employment issues, provides training to managers and staff and offers strategic advice on employment litigation matters. Furthermore, Hope has extensive experience arbitrating and mediating employment and commercial disputes. She is also included on the American Arbitration Association’s National Roster of Arbitrators, CPR’s Panel of Distinguished Neutrals, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Program. She is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and the current chair of its selection committee for the Third Circuit. Hope has more than a decade of experience providing professional responsibility advice to lawyers and law firms. Hope previously served as the lead professional responsibility attorney and then as General Counsel for a 450+ attorney firm for over a decade, where she chaired the Professional Responsibility Committee, providing real-time advice and educational programs to hundreds of attorneys on all aspects of the rules of professional conduct. Hope also provides ethics opinions to lawyers and law firms and conducted training for in-house lawyers. Hope has been regularly recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for her work in employment law. Notably, she was named “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers for Labor and Employment and Employment Law – Management in Philadelphia. Hope was also chosen as a Philadelphia Business Journal Best of the Bar honoree for her work in employment litigation. Furthermore, she was recognized as a Labor and Employment Star by Benchmark Litigation. Hope is also a frequent lecturer and author on employment law and professional responsibility topics. Hope has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, teaching professional responsibility seminars. She has also spoken at the Northeast Regional Employment Law Institute for many years, lecturing on various topics including sexual harassment, defamation in the employment context and tort claims arising from employee terminations. In addition, she has published several articles for the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law. Before joining the Firm, Hope was a partner at three prominent law firms in Philadelphia, including serving as general counsel at one of her prior firms. Hope received her B.A. from Cornell University and J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. After law school, Hope was a law clerk for the Honorable Joseph L. McGlynn, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Daniel J. Siegel, Esq.
Attorney Daniel J. Siegel is a nationally recognized authority on ethics, technology, data protection and business workflow management, and the principal of both the Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel, LLC and Integrated Technology Services, LLC. Dan provides techno-ethics counsel to solo, small and mid-sized law firms on cybersecurity, technology and other related issues. His practice includes representing of attorneys in disciplinary matters; providing professional responsibility guidance to attorneys and firms; serving as appellate counsel; and representing individuals in workers’ compensation and personal injury matters. Dan also consults with law firms and businesses on workflow management, implementation of paperless offices, and other productivity matters. Attorney Siegel is a prolific speaker and author, and serves as the Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Committee on Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and Past-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Professional Development Board Chair. The author of 15 books, Dan is a columnist and frequent lecturer on a wide range of topics, including ethics, technology, substantive law, appellate law, and professional responsibility matters. You can reach Dan at [email protected].
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