In 2 recent studies, small law firms reported that they spent a significant portion of their time on nonlegal work. Running a law practice is a business and that means there are a lot of administrative tasks that must get done. However, when lawyers do too much of that work, it can seriously hurt the […]
In an important decision for personal injury litigators, the New York Court of Appeals, the State’s highest court, recently ruled that privacy settings in Facebook do not protect your clients from legitimate discovery requests. In Forman v Henkin, the Court of Appeals unanimously reversed the appellate court and reinstated a trial judge’s ruling requiring Plaintiff, […]
The process of applying for and receiving post-settlement funding is straight-forward and quick for those who follow the funder’s guidelines. However, once a law firm gets the money, attorneys often are concerned about what happens if their settlement is held up longer than expected or if other issues come up. An attorney does have some […]
Post-settlement legal funding is typically available in a wide-variety of cases. Any type of contingency fee case can meet the requirements for funding as long as the funder can underwrite the paying obligor; there is a written settlement agreement; and the legal fee arrangement is clearly spelled out between the client and lawyer. However, a […]
Confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements can often come back to haunt plaintiffs. As discussed in a previous post, an inadvertent breach of confidentiality could cost a plaintiff his/her settlement. Similarly, a confidentiality clause could result in tax liability for the plaintiff effectively reducing his/her recovery. In Amos v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, T.C. Memo. 2003-329 […]
No plaintiff ever asks for a Confidentiality Provision to be part of their settlement agreement. That is a defense-driven device that could cost plaintiffs their settlements. Case in point —Gulliver Schools, Inc. et al. v. Patrick Snay, Third DCA Florida (February 26, 2014). In that case, Snay had been a Headmaster at Gulliver Schools, which […]
