Thousands of verified Experts are ready to answer your specific questions 24/7.
Satisfaction is guaranteed and you pay your Expert only if you are satisfied.
Just type your detailed question and click "Get an Answer."
In minutes you'll get a response from an Expert. You can always ask follow-up questions.
Happy with your answer? Just click "Accept" to pay your Expert.
Can a New York attorney enforce an agreement with a client obligating the client to provide to the attorney work valued at not less than an agreed amount, say $100,000, based on agreed hourly rates, during an agreed period of time, say for one year following the agreement? The client expends exponentially more on fees via multiple law firms.
State/Country relating to Question: New York
it sounds like you are asking if a barter arrangment for legal services would be enforced in NY. Is that what you are asking?
What do you mean by a barter arrangement?
I'm asking whether a client can agree to give the attorney a minimum dollar amount of work for the coming year and if it doesn't, the attorney can sue for the difference remaining unpaid from the agreed amount. Unlike a flat fee agreement the task agreed to is not known up front, and there the lawyer keeps the retainer paid even if the time spent amounts to less than the amount paid in advance.
I understand what a flat fee agreement is, but that is not what you are inquiring about. Bartering is a medium in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods and/or services without a common unit of exchange (without the use of money).
This sounds like what you are talking about, no?
No. And I know this is not a flat fee agreement. It seems to be the other side of the coin. With a flat fee, the parties discuss the work up front and agree to a fee amount paid up front. As stated if the time spent is less, the lawyer still keeps the full amount.
In this inquiry, the parties did not know the specific work to discuss up front, but did agree to a specific total fee for the year for which the client would provide the work. Here, the client has not provided the amount of work valued at the fee total agreed to and, therefore, refuses to pay the full amount payable for the full year. Can the client sue for the amount remaining unpaid from the agreed total?
I understand the arrangement, but am a bit confused by the second part of the post. The client did not provide the work, and wants to sue?
My inexcusable error. Can the law firm, not the client, sue for the unpaid difference. Again, my bad. Sorry.
not at all a problem, I just want to make sure I understand your question. Was there a fixed dollar amount stipulated in the agreement, or is the law firm doing its own assessment of what is owed?
The up front fixed dollar amount was $250,000. The client expends far more than that annually for legal fees spread over several firms.
I'm sorry, my question was unclear, in the contract, was there a way to calculate the value of the services rendered by the client (e.g. hourly rate)?
Look at my original question. It postulates "agreed hourly rates and an "agreed period of time." The answer is yes.
Yes, the attorney can enforce the agreement.
Is it not possible to receive from you a concise statement of the reasons and authorities, if any, you arrived at supporting your conclusion?
The agreement, as you describe it, is consistent with the NY Rules of Professional Responsibility: DR 2-106 [1200.11] Fee for Legal Services.
A. A lawyer shall not enter into an agreement for, charge or collect an illegal or excessive fee.
B. A fee is excessive when, after a review of the facts, a lawyer of ordinary prudence would be left with a definite and firm conviction that the fee is in excess of a reasonable fee. Factors to be considered as guides in determining the reasonableness of a fee include the following: 1. The time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly. 2. The likelihood, if apparent or made known to the client, that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer. 3. The fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services. 4. The amount involved and the results obtained. 5. The time limitations imposed by the client or by circumstances. 6. The nature and length of the professional relationship with the client. 7. The experience, reputation and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services. 8. Whether the fee is fixed or contingent.
C. A lawyer shall not enter into an arrangement for, charge or collect:
1. A contingent fee for representing a defendant in a criminal case.
2. Any fee in a domestic relations matter: a. The payment or amount of which is contingent upon the securing of a divorce or in any way determined by reference to the amount of maintenance, support, equitable distribution, or property settlement; b. Unless a written retainer agreement is signed by the lawyer and client setting forth in plain language the nature of the relationship and the details of the fee arrangement. A lawyer shall not include in the written retainer agreement a nonrefundable fee clause; or c. Based upon a security interest, confession of judgment or other lien, without prior notice to the client in a signed retainer agreement and approval from a tribunal after notice to the adversary. A lawyer shall not foreclose on a mortgage placed on the marital residence while the spouse who consents to the mortgage remains the titleholder and the residence remains the spouse's primary residence.
3. A fee proscribed by law or rule of court.
D. Promptly after a lawyer has been employed in a contingent fee matter, the lawyer shall provide the client with a writing stating the method by which the fee is to be determined, including the percentage or percentages that shall accrue to the lawyer in the event of settlement, trial or appeal, litigation and other expenses to be deducted from the recovery and whether such expenses are to be deducted before or, if not prohibited by statute or court rule, after the contingent fee is calculated. Upon conclusion of a contingent fee matter, the lawyer shall provide the client with a written statement stating the outcome of the matter, and if there is a recovery, showing the remittance to the client and the method of its determination.
E. Where representation is in a civil matter, a lawyer shall resolve fee disputes by arbitration at the election of the client pursuant to a fee arbitration program established by the Chief Administrator of the Courts and approved by the justices of the Appellate Divisions.
F. In domestic relations matters, a lawyer shall provide a prospective client with a statement of client’s rights and responsibilities at the initial conference and prior to the signing of a written retainer agreement.
In fact, here's article about one NY attorney doing what you are doing (exchanging services for services with clients, i.e. bartering). http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202429477918&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1
Attorney
Negotiate, Draft, and Review many complex commercial agreements each year.
I had read that DR before posing the question. I don't agree it covers the posed arrangement. Nor do the situations in the article. That said, thank you for your time. Much appreciated.