Confirm Attorney Fees in Writing: Court Changes Colo.rpc 1.4, 1.5

• Publication year: 2000
• Pages: 27
• Citation: Vol. 29 No. 6 Pg. 27

29 Colo.Law. 27 Colorado Lawyer 2000.

2000, June, Pg. 27. Confirm Attorney Fees in Writing: Court Changes Colo.RPC 1.4, 1.5

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Vol. 29, No. 6, Pg. 27

The Colorado Lawyer
June 2000
Vol. 29, No. 6 [Page 27]

Features

Confirm Attorney Fees in Writing: Court Changes Colo.RPC 1.4 1.5
by John Lebsack

Beginning July 1, 2000, Colorado lawyers must advise new clients of the basis or rate of the fee in writing, and must respond, preferably in writing, to reasonable requests from all clients about the amount of fees and costs incurred. The Colorado Supreme Court adopted changes to Rules 1.4 and 1.5 of the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct ("Colo.RPC" or "Rule"), which appear in this issue's "Court Business" section (page 113). The Proposed Rules and Comments were published in the March 2000 issue of The Colorado Lawyer,1 and after a period of public comment and a public hearing held on April 13 2000, the Court adopted these changes on April 20, 2000, to become effective July 1, 2000

New Rule Requires Fees Confirmed in Writing

Colo.RPC 1.5 used to say that the basis of the fee should be communicated "preferably" in writing. The new Rule 1.5 simply drops the word "preferably." These amendments were adopted by the Court at the recommendation of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee, which was created in 1998 to assist the Court in the area of attorney regulation.2

Colorado now joins the growing number of states that require fees to be confirmed in writing. Seven states and the District of Columbia already have this or a similar requirement. During the Advisory Committee's study of these proposals, its members contacted officials in several of these states. None reported any difficulty in the implementation of their rules requiring fees to be confirmed in writing. Colorado's Attorney Regulation Counsel reported that adoption of this rule likely will reduce fee-related grievances.

The Advisory Committee heard reports that in many disciplinary complaints from clients, the dispute could have been avoided if the lawyer had sent the client a written explanation of how the fee would be determined. When the Advisory Committee recommended the change to Colo.RPC 1.5 to the Court, it stated the change would "further protect the public while at the same time reduce the number of fee-related grievances." The Advisory Committee recognized that, frequently, when...