Re: [CollabLaw] ABA Ethics Opinion
- From: John Crouch <divorce@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 15:28:57 -0400
Douglas J. Sanderson wrote:
Well that's a breath of fresh air and common sense reasoning in the
new ABA opinion! Note, too, that the opinion refers repeatedly to a
"four-way agreement" -- presumably, a SINGLE agreement with both
clients and both attorneys signing. So do we go back to that?
-- -- --
Personally, I prefer it to be a two-way contract anyway. I think we
need to emphasize that it's the clients who choose the process and
make the other major settlement decisions, not the lawyers. And I
think the best way to avoid 4-way privity-of-contract (purely as a
matter of clarity and malpractice-liability prevention, completely
aside from notions of conflict of interest arising from it) is to not
sign a 4-way contract, rather than signing one and including a bunch
of disclaimers about how your signing it doesn't really create a
contract with everyone else. That kind of stuff doesn't set a great
example for the clients, and might make them cynical and/or confused.
--
John Crouch
Crouch & Crouch
2101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 950
Arlington, Virginia 22201
703-528-6700
divorce@xxxxxxxxxxx
www.divorceandestateplanning.com
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