Proposed 2008 Formal Ethics Opinion 10 “Guidelines for Fees Paid in Advance”July 22, 2008

Members of the 28th Judicial District Bar

For the last several years there has been great confusion amongst lawyers of this State with regard to the ethical parameters associated with fee agreements that call for fees to be paid in advance or at the inception of the establishment of the attorney client relationship.  There have been several ethics opinions on the ethical requirements with regard to such fees some of which appear to provide contradictory or inconsistent advice.  Not only has this been an area of difficulty for the practicing bar, it is a regular source of difficulty for the Ethics, Grievance, and Attorney Client Assistance Committees (the latter of which administers the Fee Dispute Resolution Program) of the North Carolina State Bar.

In response to the requests of several State Bar Councilors (me included), the Ethics Committee has recently approved for publication proposed 2008 Formal Ethics Opinion 10 “Guidelines for Fees Paid in Advance”.

Please understand that at this point these are only proposed guidelines.  In accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Bar, these proposed Ethics Opinions must first be published for comment and after comment has been received, they are again considered by the Ethics Committee.  The Ethics Committee may withdraw, revise, or otherwise change any aspect of a proposed formal Ethics Opinion. 

Nevertheless, in order to make as many of you as possible aware of what I believe is a very important ethics issue, I am attaching hereto a copy of proposed 2008 Formal Ethics Opinion 10 “Guidelines for Fees Paid in Advance” for your review.  This same proposed Formal Ethics Opinion will be published in the next issue of the North Carolina State Bar Journal.  Any interested person or group may submit a written comment or request to be heard concerning a proposed opinion.  Any comment or request should be directed to the Ethics Committee at PO Box 25908, Raleigh, North Carolina 27611. 

The State Bar Council recently concluded its July Quarterly Meeting and a summary of the business of the Council will shortly be posted on the web-site of the North Carolina State Bar by the State Bar’s Executive Director, Tom Lunsford.  As always, I invite you to review the summary of each quarterly meeting.

If any of you have any questions or concerns about the operation of the North Carolina State Bar, please feel free to contact me.

With my best regards, I am

Very truly yours,

Howard L. Gum
State Bar Councilor
28th Judicial District

HLG/sc

Enclosure