An Appellate Division panel recently concluded that a law firm was barred from recovering over $75,000 in unpaid legal fees from a client because the retainer agreement offended a Rule of Professional Conduct that requires all lawyers to send to the client any writings memorializing fee agreements with “a reasonable” time after commencing the representation.
                               
In the case subject of the Appellate Division’s decision, the client signed a rather short retainer agreement obliging the client to pay the law firm on a regular basis for hourly “billable services” defined to include usual attorney tasks (i.e. telephone calls, letters, briefs, inter-office conferences, court appearances, etc.)  This agreement also referenced a “master retainer” which identified the law firm’s “standard billing practice.”  This master retainer agreement was an 18 page single spaced document which included a responsibility to pay for some rather unusual and extraordinary services not referenced in the agreement signed by the client. 

While the trial court issued a judgment in favor of the law firm, the Appellate Division reversed.  The case was remanded with instructions to allow the law firm to collect only fees defined by the retainer signed by the client.