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Ethics Rules, Opinions, and Resources
Supreme Court Endorses Nonrefundable Retainer
The Michigan Supreme Court reversed the Attorney Discipline Board’s decision in Grievance Administrator v. Cooper, in a one-paragraph order, declaring that the ADB erred in finding a fee agreement that provided for a nonrefundable retainer was ambiguous based upon a perceived disparity between the “nonrefundability” language and hourly billing language. The court concluded that the neither the clear and unambiguous nonrefundability language nor the lawyer’s retention of the “minimum fee” upon termination of the lawyer-client relationship violated existing MRPC 1.5(a), 1.15(b), or 1.16(d).
View the Supreme Court Order PDF
New Pro Hac Vice Rule for Out-of-State Lawyers Effective Sept. 1, 2008
Out-of-state lawyers seeking to enter an appearance in a Michigan case or proceeding must comply with Michigan’s pro hac vice rule, which provides for an out-of-state lawyer’s appearance in a maximum of five Michigan cases in a 365-day period, upon the motion of a Michigan attorney supported by an affidavit. The Michigan attorney must file the motion and affidavit in the court or administrative tribunal or agency where admission is sought and submit a copy of both to the Attorney Grievance Commission (AGC) by mailing them to Dina P. Dajani, Attorney Grievance Commission, Marquette Building, 243 W. Congress, Ste. 256, Detroit, MI, 48226. The AGC must within seven days notify the tribunal of whether the out-of-state lawyer has sought temporary admission in the past 365 days and, if so, how many times. For the privilege of practicing in Michigan, the out-of-state lawyer must pay once annually a fee of $135.00, regardless of the number of appearances. That fee is made payable to the State Bar of Michigan, 306 Townsend, Lansing, MI 48933-2012, and should be sent to the attention of the Membership Department, with a notation that it is a pro hac vice fee being paid on behalf of [the name of the lawyer]. Every lawyer admitted pursuant to this rule subjects himself or herself to the jurisdiction of Michigan’s attorney disciplinary system.
View the Full Text of the Order
For questions regarding the filing and disposition of the original motion and affidavit, consult with the clerk of the court where the motion and affidavit will be filed.
For additional questions about submitting the motion and affidavit to the Attorney Grievance Commission, contact Dina P. Dajani at the Attorney Grievance Commission by calling (313) 961-6585 or e-mailing her at dpdajani@agcmi.com.
For additional questions about how and where to file the fee, contact Carol Peterson at the State Bar of Michigan by calling (517) 346-6377 or e-mailing her at cpeterson@mail.michbar.org.
Ethics Opinions
- Formal opinion R-14 has been replaced with the new R-20, as a result of a vote taken by the Board of Commissioners on July 25, 2008. The new opinion clarifies a lawyer's obligations when, while representing a judge in another matter, the lawyer appears before that judge representing another client.
- New opinion RI-345 discusses a lawyer’s obligation when the CEO of a corporate client threatens to destroy documents the subject of a discovery order.
- Representation of an insured on a fixed fee basis paid by the insurance company is not unethical, so long as the arrangement does not adversely affect the lawyer’s independent professional judgment and the lawyer represents the insured with competence and diligence. Although there is nothing in the Rules that would require disclosure to an insured of the basis of the fee to be paid by the insurer to the lawyer, the lawyer may not agree with the insurer that it will not disclose to the insured information about the fee arrangements. See new opinion RI-343.
- New opinion RI-344 provides guidance about the ethical use of credit cards for the payment of advance fees.
State Bar of Michigan Ethics Opinion Online Service
The State Bar of Michigan is pleased to provide this service
to our membership to assist Michigan lawyers in researching ethics inquiries
free of charge. This service provides the full index to Michigan ethics opinions,
both professional and judicial, with links to all ethics opinions released
since October 1988.
Michigan Ethics Opinions
Notice to Lawyers:
State Bar
of Michigan ethics opinions are advisory and non-binding in nature. This
index is a complete historical catalog. Some of the listed ethics opinions, though
not expressly superseded in subsequent ethics opinions, may be nonetheless outmoded
or no longer sound due to subsequent changes in case
law, statutes, or court rules. Practitioners are urged to thoroughly research
all sources to determine the current validity of any given ethics opinion.
Ethics Helpline
Members may contact the SBM Attorney Ethics Helpline at (877)
558-4760 or the Judges Ethics Helpline at (877) 558-4761 to receive an informal,
advisory opinion from a staff attorney regarding an ethics issue pertaining
to the inquirer’s prospective conduct. These numbers are reserved for lawyers
and judges only. Staff will not advise on past conduct of the inquirer,
the conduct of another attorney or judge, on questions of law, or hypotheticals.
The opinions of staff counsel are non-binding and advisory only.
Ethics Rules
Ethics Articles
Ethics Packages
Ethics Resources
- Standing Committee on Ethics, Judicial and Professional website
- Bibliography of ethics resources
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