伦理意见238

书面费用协议

*[注:参见 意见238 受到《靠谱的足球滚球平台》修订的实质影响.C. 2007年2月1日生效的《靠谱的滚球平台》

当需要书面收费协议时, 协议必须充分告知客户费用的基础或费率. 除了, fixed fee agreements must cover all reasonably foreseeable services necessary to provide competent representation.

适用的规则

• 规则1.1(合格代表)
• 规则1.4(a)(靠谱的滚球平台与委托人之间的沟通)
• 规则1.5(b)(新客户的书面费用协议要求)

调查

咨询靠谱的滚球平台处理案件时，按他所说的“固定收费”方式提供列举服务. 争议中的聘用协议, 这涉及到移民代理吗, 说明客户“有权”进行一次“办公室访问”, 电话会议, 或与工作人员进行其他咨询.” It further states that “additional office visits and/or telephone consultations not specifically mentioned” will be charged at specified hourly rates. A dispute has arisen between the inquirer and a client regarding the appropriate charges for additional consultations.

尽管聘用协议规定，“固定费用”中只包括一次咨询,” the inquirer’s letter to the Committee states that he will not make an additional charge if “we contact the client to perform those services [specified in the retainer agreement] or if the client contacts us when we would need that contact in an effort to perform the specific services for which we are retained.” A third version of the operative rule appears in a letter from the inquirer to a second attorney who became involved in the fee dispute. This letter states that there is no charge when a client calls to get updated status information from a paralegal, 当案件达到“里程碑”时，咨询也不收费.

讨论

Fixed fee agreements serve the important purpose of making legal services available to persons who might otherwise not be able to afford an attorney. 然而, such agreements cannot be used to circumvent basic principles governing the relationships between attorneys and clients. 这项调查提出了两个问题，都是关于第一印象的. 第一个解决需求, 《靠谱的足球滚球平台》的新规定, 费用协议必须简化为书面形式. 第二个问题是, 当签订固定费用协议时, 有一些服务必须由固定费用支付，不需额外收费.

1. 当需要书面收费协议时, 协议必须告知客户费用的基准或费率
对于靠谱的滚球平台“不经常代表”的客户，规则1.5(b)要求靠谱的滚球平台以书面形式将“收费的基础或费率”告知他们.对规则1的评论.5(b) explain that the requirement has been introduced in order to establish “an understanding as to the fee,评论[1]并减少“误解的可能性”.评论[2]. The Rule recognizes that “[i]t is not necessary to recite all the factors that underlie the basis of the fee, 但只有那些直接涉及到它的计算.评论[1]. 这些意见明确承认，固定收费表可能符合《靠谱的滚球平台》的要求, 只要时间表“充分告知客户要收取的费用。.评论[3].

这项调查提出的事实充分证明了这一规则的重要性. 在这种情况下, it is simply not possible to discern how charges are assessed for consultations beyond the one consultation enumerated in the fee agreement. 事实上，这些费用的评估似乎完全由靠谱的滚球平台自行决定. 这导致了靠谱的滚球平台-客户关系的破裂, 在争议中引入第二位靠谱的滚球平台, 以及向本委员会发出的询问信. 虽然有书面聘用协议, 很明显，这样的文字并没有充分解释费用的“基础或费率”. 委员会认为，有争议的费用协议不符合规则1的要求.5.

2. 固定费用协议必须涵盖, 作为固定费用的一部分, 为提供合格的代理所必需的合理可预见的服务

第二个问题涉及固定费用所涵盖的服务的范围可能是有限的. 正如这次调查的主题所达成的协议一样, it is apparently common for fixed fee agreements to include certain services in the fixed fee and then to provide for further services at an additional hourly rate. It is the view of the Committee that the fixed fee must include 为提供合格的代理所必需的合理可预见的服务. 见规则1.1(a)(“靠谱的滚球平台应向委托人提供合格的代理. 合格的代理需要法律知识, 技能, 陈述所合理需要的彻底性和准备.”)

固定费用协议之所以有吸引力，正是因为它提供了可预测且负担得起的费用, 通常是为了例行的法律事务. 如规则1的注释[3].5个州, “诸如日常房地产交易之类的服务, 无争议的离婚, 或者准备简单的遗嘱, 例如, 可能适合描述在 . . . 固定收费表.如有必要，除固定费用外，还按小时收费, clients may not be able to afford such services or may choose to forego necessary legal services in order to achieve savings. 此外, lawyers may not provide additional necessary services based on a concern that their clients may not be able to pay for them.

对规则1的注释[5].5 explains that it is improper to enter into a fee agreement that might lead to the curtailment of necessary legal services. 它在有关部分指出:

An agreement may not be made whose terms might induce the lawyer improperly to curtail services for the client or perform them in a way contrary to the client’s interest. 例如, a lawyer should not enter into an agreement whereby services are to be provided only up to a stated amount when it is foreseeable that more extensive services probably will be required, 除非向客户充分解释了情况. 否则, 在诉讼或交易过程中，客户可能不得不讨价还价以获得进一步的帮助. 但是，根据客户的支付能力来确定服务的范围是适当的.

A fixed fee agreement that does not provide for foreseeably necessary services runs afoul of this principle.

The Committee does not intend to suggest by this opinion that a lawyer is required to consult with a client at the client’s whim or to provide services that are not reasonably necessary to the competent provision of the agreed-upon representation. 看到 规则1.2(c)关于可允许的陈述范围限制. 然而, 靠谱的滚球平台确实有责任, 在起草固定费用协议时, to anticipate those services that will be reasonably necessary to competently carry out the agreed-upon representation. 在某些陈述中会发生复杂和不可预见的事件, 在这种情况下，靠谱的滚球平台不排除提出额外指控. 检验标准是这些事件在陈述开始时是否合理地可预见. 如果是这样，相应的法律服务必须由固定费用支付.

We recognize that this opinion may result in increases in fixed fees charged for the provision of certain legal services. 然而, this result is preferable to the enticement of clients with an unreasonably low fee schedule and leaving them in mid-representation with unanticipated—and possibly unaffordable—legal fees.

关于悬而未决的调查, the Committee is not a finder of facts and is not in a position to render an opinion as to whether limiting a client to a single consultation during the course of the particular representation is reasonable. 我们注意到规则1中的要求.4(a) that “[a] lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information,表明这样的限制可能不合理. 事实上，对规则1的评论[2]强调了靠谱的滚球平台在这方面的义务.第4条规定, “[a] client is entitled to whatever information the client wishes about all aspects of the subject matters of the representation unless the client expressly consents not to have certain information passed on.“此外, “the lawyer must initiate and maintain the consultative and decision-making process if the client does not do so and must ensure that the ongoing process is thorough and complete.” Id.

当然, 靠谱的滚球平台不限于单一的模式，为所需的咨询和可能, 在适当的情况下, rely on paralegal or other staff members to communicate with the client rather than devote more costly attorney time. This may be particularly true in connection with those routine legal matters that are likely to be the subject of fixed fee agreements. 看到 对规则1的注释[4].这里涉及到许多日常事务, 可以与客户安排有限或不定期的报告制度.”)

总而言之, 书面收费协议, 在需要时, 必须充分告知客户收费的基础或费率. 除了, 固定费用协议必须包括, 作为固定费用的一部分, 为提供合格的代理所必需的合理可预见的服务.

调查没有. 91-9-36
通过:1993年6月15日