Think Twice Before Negotiating Settlement of Client's Claim and Your Fees at the Same Time
An open question is whether plaintiffs' counsel must avoid such "bundled" settlement offers as an ethical matter because they result in a conflict between the lawyer's interests and the client's.
September 17, 2020 at 12:00 PM
9 minute read
I recently addressed how the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision in Pinto v. Spectrum Chems. and Laboratory Prods., 985 A.2d 1239 (2010), both (i) left open the question of what a public interest law firm is, and (ii) provides an opportunity for private public interest law firms to do well by doing good. In Pinto, a unanimous court held that public interest lawyers and defendants may simultaneously negotiate a case's merits and attorney fees when attempting to settle claims under fee-shifting statutes. However, the court held that when such cases involve a public interest law firm, defendants may not insist on a fee waiver.
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