Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | T | Trial

Utah court rejects bid to limit contingent fees.

Publication: Trial
Publication Date: 01-APR-04 		Format: Online
Delivery: Immediate Online Access
Full Article Title: Utah court rejects bid to limit contingent fees.(In re Petition for Rulemaking to Revise the Ethical Standards Relating to Contingency Fees)

Article Excerpt
In a decision hailed by plaintiff attorneys as a victory for the civil justice system, a Utah Supreme Court attorney-ethics committee unanimously rejected a tort "reform" group's proposal to radically change that state's rules regarding lawyer fees. (In re Petition for Rulemaking to Revise the Ethical Standards Relating to Contingency Fees (Utah Jan. 28, 2004).)

The Utah court's Advisory Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct said the proposal--which, among other things, would have prohibited contingent fees in personal injury lawsuits unless plaintiff lawyers first sent a detailed "notice of claim" to potential defendants--was "entirely out of character with the general approach and goals of the Rules of Professional Conduct" and "uncharacteristic of general principles that govern the actions and relationships of lawyers."

The proposal was advanced by Common Good, a self-described "nonprofit, bipartisan legal reform coalition dedicated to overhauling America's lawsuit culture," and came in the form of a petition to change the ethical rules governing how lawyers collect tees. Last May, the group announced that it was filing the petition in 12 states, and that it had submitted a similar proposal in Texas. Utah is one of several states that have either rejected or dismissed the petition. No state has accepted it.

The chair of Common Good, Philip Howard,...

Access Full Article, Compliments of Goliath

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!



More articles from Trial
Chipping at the core of justice: our law promises every litigant one b..., April 01, 2004
Hope for civil rights: plaintiffs are starting to feel the effects of ..., April 01, 2004
A lawyer's view from the jury box.(lawyers as jurors), April 01, 2004
Federal class action calls Wal-Mart a 'criminal enterprise'., April 01, 2004
To reach settlement, lawyer must have 'actual authority'., April 01, 2004

Looking for additional articles?
Search our database of over 3 million articles.

Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?
Search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication name or publication date.

About Goliath
Whether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company analysis or best practices in managing your organization, Goliath can help you meet your business needs.

Our extensive business information databases empower business professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible, authoritative information they need to support their business goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting, company research or defining management best practices - Goliath is your leading source for accurate information.