Admin

login | register

How competitive are you at different Law Schools?

Enter your LSAT and GPA scores and find out!
GPA: out of 4.0
LSAT: out of 180

Student Resources

Personal Statement Editing
LSAT Prep
Law School Loans
Student Health Insurance
Law School Rankings
Law School Search
FREE Law School Outlines
Legal Forums arrow Legal Forums
Legal Forums
Welcome, Guest
Please Login or Register.    Lost Password?
Legal Forums Attorneys Ethics
Re:Retaining files (1 viewing) (1) Guest
Go to bottom Post Reply Favoured: 0
TOPIC: Re:Retaining files
#57
Samantha (User)
Expert Boarder
Posts: 91
graphgraph
User Offline
Retaining files 1 Year, 10 Months ago Karma: 2  
I have a client that has not paid my invoices for legal services, but wants me to release his permanent file to him. I'm sure other attorneys have had this problem before. I believe that the attorney work product is mine, but the executed client signed documents are the client's. The problem is that if I release the file to the client, then the client will never pay me for my services. I'm happy to get rid of the client, but i just want to get paid. Any recommendations?
Enter code here   
Please note, although no boardcode and smiley buttons are shown, they are still useable
 
Report to moderator   Logged Logged  
  Reply Quote
#63
Jackie (User)
Expert Boarder
Posts: 96
graphgraph
User Offline
Re:Retaining files 1 Year, 10 Months ago Karma: 3  
I believe the rules of professional conduct addresses word product and who's entitled to what. But I would take the position that the client doesn't own anything because he/she hasn't paid for it yet. Also, did you have them sign an engagement letter? If this wasn't addressed in the letter, then you may want to revise it to avoid this situation in the future.
Enter code here   
Please note, although no boardcode and smiley buttons are shown, they are still useable
 
Report to moderator   Logged Logged  
  Reply Quote
#67
Tomas (User)
Senior Boarder
Posts: 69
graphgraph
User Offline
Re:Retaining files 1 Year, 9 Months ago Karma: 3  
I believe that the attorney can keep his work product and not release it until payment is received, but the rest of the client's personal file is the property of the client (assuming the client already paid for it). If the client doesnt pay for legal services then the attorney can file suit against his/her client. I realize this is unpopular, but this maybe the only option to recover fees for legal services rendered.
Enter code here   
Please note, although no boardcode and smiley buttons are shown, they are still useable
 
Report to moderator   Logged Logged  
  Reply Quote
#141
Samantha (User)
Expert Boarder
Posts: 91
graphgraph
User Offline
Re:Retaining files 1 Year, 9 Months ago Karma: 2  
Tomas and Jackie;

Thanks for the advice, after calling and discussing with the State Bar, they agree that the permanent file is mine and that i will need to sue my client for attorney fees.

Its hard to get all the money upfront, as you need to trust the client sometimes.

I will update my engagement letter state that the permanent file is my property.

Thanks again.
Enter code here   
Please note, although no boardcode and smiley buttons are shown, they are still useable
 
Report to moderator   Logged Logged  
  Reply Quote
Go to top Post Reply
Powered by FireBoardget the latest posts directly to your desktop
 

LegalNut Resources

Attorney jobs listings and sites with attorney salary information, attorney job search functions, and salaries by law firm.

Law school rankings show how competitive your lsat scores would be at top law schools in the US.

Law school admissions advice is available both at the LSAT forum and throughout the pre-law section, including LSAT prep options, law school personal statement help, LSAT score distributions and law school bar exam pass rates.

Polls

What did you score on the LSAT (anonymous)
 
What do you expect your yearly income will be as a lawyer?
 
Copyright © 2006 - 2008 Rochester Ideas, LLC. All rights reserved. Our site is valid CSS Our site is valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional