Best Ethical Practices for Getting Paid: From fee agreements to case closure

“Virtually all difficult ethical problems arise from conflict between a lawyer's responsibilities to clients, to the legal system and to the lawyer's own interest.” Section [9] of the Preamble to the Model Rules of Professional Ethics.

Nowhere is this conflict more apparent than when payment issues arise between a lawyer and his or her client, which have become commonplace in recent years as billing rates have soared, pressures for higher compensation have mounted, and realization rates have dropped.

This live webinar is aimed at educating and informing lawyers of best practices to getting paid while avoiding the oftentimes thorny ethical and professional issues that affect the payment process in connection with the ABA model rules and more. This course will explore best ethical practices for communicating with clients about payment expectations, and for drafting better fee agreements, time entries, and invoices that promote payment. This course will also look at best practices a lawyer can use to collect on past-due bills, without violating the applicable ethical rules. This webinar is critical for all lawyers who want to get paid for their services, from managing and supervising partners to new lawyers learning how to bill time. It’s never too late or too early to learn best ethical billing practices.

Key topics to be discussed:

• The Basics
• Engagement Letter
• Billing Practices
• Failure of Payment
• Rule 1.4 Communications with Client
• Rule 1.5 Fees
• Rule 1.6 Confidentiality
• Rule 1.7 Conflict of Interest Current Client
• Rule 1.8 Conflict of Interest Current Client: Specific rules
• Rule 1.9 Conflict of Interest Former Client
• Rule 5.1 Responsibilities of Partners
• Rule 5.2 Responsibilities of Subordinate Lawyer
• Overcome

Closed-captioning available