ANOTHER IMPORTANT LEGAL SNIPPET, from Jill

Again from Lawyers Weekly, this time August 9th edition:

"Where a lawyer breached his fiduciary duty to his clients, he may have to forfeit some or all of his $60 million fee even though the clients didn't suffer any actual damages, says the Texas Supreme Court. The court applied Section 49 of the proposed Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers, which provides that '[a] lawyer engaging in clear and serious violation of duty to a clietn may be required to forfeit some or all of the lawyer's compensation for the matter.' The lawyer in this case represented the plaintiffs in a personal injury class action. After the case settled for $190 million, the plaintiffs sued, claiming that the lawyer had entered into the settlement without their approval and then coerced them into accepting it. The lawyer argued that he shouldn't have to forfeit any of his fee because the plaintiffs hadn't suffered any actual damages. But the court said that '[it] is the agent's disloyalty, not any resulting harm, that violates the fiduciary relationship and thus impairs the basis for compensation. An agent's compensation is not only for specific results but also for loyalty. Removing the disincentive of forfeiture except when harm results would prompt an agent to attempt to calculate whether particular conduct, though disloyal to the principal, might nevertheless be harmless to the principal and profitable to the agent 'The main purpose of forfeiture is not to compensate an injured principal, even though it may have that effect. Rather, the central purpose of the equitable remedy of forfeiture is to protect relationships of trust by discouraging agents' disloyalty.' The court remanded the case for a determination of how much of the fee was subject to forfeiture. It cited similar rulings from the D.C. Circuit and from state courts in the District of Columbia, Florida, Minnesota and Washington." Texas Supreme Court, Burrow v. Arce, No. 98-0184, July 1, 1999.

LADIES -- GET THE MESSAGE??? If your attorney is not being loyal

to you, is not meeting his/her duty to you, then the attorney is in breach and may not be able to get paid, even though you are not actually damaged by this conduct (if you are damaged, then the disloyalty/breach of duty may rise to the level of malpractice). Go to findlaw.com and get this case. Read it, and read the cases from the other jurisdictions. Those of you in Texas and the otherjurisdictions now have some great ammo to use with your attorneys. Either they step up to the plate and give you proper legal advice, loyalty, and customer service (return calls, mail, emails, etc.) or you won't pay at the end (or will not pay in full).

STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS, LADIES!!!!

Jill Whitbeck

White & Meany