What are my obligations, the attorney's obligations, and my cancellation rights?

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 07 Feb 2004 09:23 PST

Are you referring to an agreement between you and your attorney,
whereby the attorney gives you prior agreement to provide you with
legal services in exchange for some form of consideration?

If so, the terms of the agreement should already be specified in your
written agreement. You are best advised to refer to those terms for
the exact obligations and cancellation information, if any. This is
essentially a contract between you and your attorney, so anything can
be written into the contract.

Can you clarify whether this agreement is already in place, or are you
considering entering into such an agreement with an attorney?

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Question by ernani-ga on 07 Feb 2004 11:37 PST

I am considering entering into the agreement.  I thought that there
might be some overarching laws governing these contracts in New Jersey

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 07 Feb 2004 12:49 PST

ernani-ga:

There are rules of professional conduct under which any lawyer in the
State of New Jersey must operate. These rules establish the basic
obligations of an attorney towards their client, and cover both
entering into an agreement to provide legal services, as well as the
grounds and conditions for termination of such services.

Generally, anything can be written into a contract between two
consenting parties; however, if any part of the agreement violates the
attorney's obligations under the Rules of Professional Conduct, then
there is a very high likelihood that the agreement may be declared
void if later contested on that point. Therefore, it is most
definitely in the interests of the attorney to ensure that both your
rights, and theirs, are protected in the agreement.

Also generally speaking, you as the client will always have the right
under the Rules of Professional Conduct to decide that you no longer
want the services of the attorney. The most that the attorney can
write into the agreement as an obligation to you, is that you pay a
fee for services rendered up to the point of termination, and any
reasonable accounting of services delivered by the attorney in order
to allow another lawyer to take over representing you. Again, this is
all covered by the Rules of Professional Conduct.

I can provide you an Answer that links you to the Rules of
Professional Conduct, and also provide links to resources available to
you in the state of New Jersey to help you in understanding this
further. Would this be acceptable as an Answer to you?

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Question by ernani-ga on 08 Feb 2004 03:14 PST

Yes, it would.

ernani-ga:

Thanks for your Question about your obligations, your attorney's
obligations, and your cancellation rights when entering into an
agreement to provide legal services in New Jersey.

The overarching rules under which this agreement must be formed, are
the New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC), also referred to
as the Code of Professional Conduct. These are based on the national
standards established by the American Bar Association, and are
endorsed by the New Jersey Bar Association.
You can find the RPC in Part I Appendices of the 'Rules Governing the
Courts of the State of New Jersey', located at:

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/rules/rules_toc.htm

The direct link is:

RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT (including amendments through Jan 1/04)
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/rules/apprpc.htm

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Your Obligations

Your obligations are quite simple, and completely dependent upon what
you agree to in the actual agreement. This includes paying any upfront
retainer required to reserve the lawyer's services, paying reasonable
fees to compensate the lawyer and their staff for services rendered,
treating the lawyer as your representative, and providing sufficient
notice when you wish to terminate the agreement. The agreement cannot
restrict you from cancelling the agreement whenever you desire,
allowing for the notice period if any. This is covered under the
lawyer's obligations below.

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The Attorney's Obligations

While generally I advise that you read through all of the rules to
familiarize yourself with what you can expect from your attorney, in
particular note the follow rules:

(as the Rules have not yet been updated in html format, you will need
to click on the link above, and scroll to the various RPC sections)

RPC 1.2. Scope of Representation and Allocation of Authority Between
Client and Lawyer

 - paragraph d states that a lawyer may not knowingly assist in the
preparation of a written instrument containing terms that the lawyer
knows are expressly prohibited by law; this extends to the agreement
to provide legal services itself


RPC 1.4. Communication 

 - paragraph d requires the lawyer to inform you if your expectations
exceed their allowable actions under the Rules


RPC 1.5. Fees 


RPC 1.6. Confidentiality of Information 


RPC 1.9 Duties to Former Clients 

 - even after your agreement has ended, the lawyer will still have
certain obligations towards you


RPC 1.16. Declining or Terminating Representation 

 - information regarding conditions under which the lawyer may
terminate representation of a client; the client may end the
representation at any time that the client wishes, and is only liable
for services already rendered, and any services mutually agreed upon
as required to properly transfer representation to another lawyer

 - if an advance retainer has been paid to the lawyer, the lawyer is
obligated to refund any unearned amount


RPC 4.1. Truthfulness in Statements to Others 


RPC 7.1. Communications Concerning a Lawyer?s Service 

 - no false advertising; basically covers your discussions with the
lawyer regarding his/her services prior to signing any agreement


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Cancelling the Agreement

Again, you are best advised to read the actual agreement carefully
before signing; however, generally the attorney is allowed to ask for
a reasonable notice period, during which they are required (by RPC
1.16) to perform whatever services are necessary to properly transfer
your representation to your new attorney. The attorney may initiate
cancellation of the agreement if they find that continuing to
represent you would cause them to violate the Rules of Professional
Conduct.

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Additional Resources

The New Jersey Bar Association has a related organization dedicated to
fostering a good public understanding of the legal profession. This
group, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, provides a publication
called "Choosing A Lawyer - A Client's Guide", which contains useful
tips and pointers:

http://www.njsbf.org/njsbf/publications/choosing.cfm


They also have other publications and services that you may find of interest:


Programs, Publications and Order Forms
http://www.njsbf.org/njsbf/programs/index.cfm


Consumer's Guide to New Jersey Law 
http://www.njsbf.org/njsbf/publications/guide.cfm


Home Page
http://www.njsbf.org/index.cfm

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I hope that this information is helpful to you. Please let me know,
using the Request Clarification button above, if you need me to
clarify any part of this Answer.

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

First time user.  I will return.