California Lawyers Who Ignore Lienholders Do So At Their (Disciplinary) Peril
10/20/20
By: Greg Fayard
In personal injury law, California lawyers regularly must deal with medical liens. For example, lienholders have certain rights to proceeds from a settled case and expect to be paid. In the past, if a California lawyer ignored …
Tax Court Finds that a Rejected E-Filed Tax Return Satisfies the Beard Test
9/29/20
By: Lee Whatling
The IRS’ software automatically rejects e-filed tax returns that do not meet certain criteria. Paper tax returns are generally not subject to the same treatment. This disparity came to a head in Fowler v. Commissioner, 155 …
Arbitration Clauses in Legal Engagements Are Not Per Se Void
9/17/20
By: Dana Maine
Joining with most other jurisdictions, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed a Court of Appeals decision finding that arbitration clauses in attorney engagement agreements are not against public policy and clarified the burden of persuasion for demonstrating procedural …
Avoiding Implied Attorney-Client Relationships with Individual Members of Small Companies
9/15/20
By: Jennifer Weatherup
Where an attorney represents a partnership or entity, there is the potential for him or her to create an implied attorney-client relationship with its individual members, imposing a duty of care that the attorney may not be …
Statute of Limitations Tolled in California Amid Pandemic
8/3/20
By: Matthew Jones
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom issued a “state of emergency” for the entire State. In response, the California Judicial Council adopted several Emergency Rules to implement during the pandemic. In particular, Rule 9 states …
How CPAs Can Minimize Liability When Assisting Clients With PPP Loan Forgiveness
7/21/20
By: Nancy Reimer and Elizabeth Lowery
The CPA’s client received funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act and is asking if and how they will qualify for PPP loan forgiveness. …
Are “Flat Fees” For Legal Services Okay in California?
7/15/20
By: Greg Fayard
Many lawyers in California charge their clients “flat fees.” That is, immigration lawyers, criminal defense lawyers, bankruptcy and estate planning lawyers, and patent lawyers all routinely charge “one price” for all services, regardless of the time it …
When Laws Conflict: What Ethics Rule Applies to a California Lawyer Advising On Cannabis?
6/30/20
By: Greg Fayard
It goes without saying that a lawyer—from California or elsewhere—shall not counsel a client to do something illegal.
But what about a state law that conflicts with a federal law? For example, federal laws that criminalize the …
Teamwork Makes The Dream Work: Lawyer in Same Firm Allowed To Submit Expert Affidavit On Behalf of Firm’s Client
6/30/20
By: Gregory Blueford
In a case of first impression, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s order granting a motion to dismiss after determining the trial judge improperly dismissed the case because the expert affidavit in support of …
How Should a California Mediator Deal With An Unrepresented Party?
6/17/20
By: Greg Fayard
Most California mediators are lawyers. When mediator-lawyers handle a mediation where one party does not have a lawyer, the lawyer-mediator has to treat that pro per party differently than a party who has a lawyer.
Specifically, if …
Law Firm Falls Victim To E-Mail Scam – Loses Appeal Following Allowance Of Summary Judgment
5/28/20
By: Marc Finkel
In 2019, the United States Treasury Department released statistics detailing the number of reported business email compromise incidents over a three- year period. The number of monthly incidents increased exponentially over those three years from approximately 500 …
A Slow Moving Storm is Brewing: Attorneys Should Expect an Uptick in Malpractice Claims, Just Not Right Away
5/22/20
By: Anastasia Osbrink
Many attorneys are wondering
whether to expect an increase in legal malpractice claims when courts – and
society at large – begin to reopen. Such an increase would follow the pattern
seen with previous economic declines. For …