{"id":4447,"date":"2006-03-22T21:18:42","date_gmt":"2006-03-23T01:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2006\/03\/22\/we-need-more-low-fee-lawyers-"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:54:04","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:54:04","slug":"we-need-more-low-fee-lawyers-even-in-ohio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2006\/03\/22\/we-need-more-low-fee-lawyers-even-in-ohio\/","title":{"rendered":"we need more low-fee lawyers (even in Ohio!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
When a seller\u00a0proclaims “you get what you pay for<\/em>,” you can be <\/span><\/div>\n
fairly certain he’s afraid of price competition — and knows his product <\/span><\/div>\n
or service is over-priced (in relation to the skills needed to produce it <\/span><\/div>\n
and the cost of its production).\u00a0 So, I’m happy to see that Carolyn <\/span><\/div>\n
Elefant <\/span>put the spotlight on lower fees at MyShingle<\/em><\/span><\/a> today, with her <\/span><\/div>\n
dis<\/span>cussion of The Brodsky Law Firm<\/a> in New York City, which charges <\/span><\/div>\n
$79 to $99 per hour for non-litigation matters. <\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Indeed, lawyer <\/span>Brodsky <\/span><\/a><\/span>sounds<\/span><\/a> a lot like ethicalEsq<\/em>: <\/span>\"complaint<\/span> <\/span>..<\/div>\n
\n
“Fact: Most lawyers are too expensive. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
“The typical New York lawyer charges $200-300 per hour, <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
and some actually charge $500-600\/hour or more.\u00a0 Sad but <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
true. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
“We think that’s excessive<\/span> (and other lawyers hate us for <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
saying so).\u00a0 We believe that working people and small busines-<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
ses should not have to pay 10 to 20 times their own hourly wage <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
for quality legal representation.”<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Carolyn is absolutely correct to worry about lawyers who seem to care <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
very little that most Americans are priced out of the market for legal <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
services.\u00a0 Just yesterday, we <\/span>mentioned<\/span><\/a> this quote by <\/span>Sol M. Linowitz<\/span><\/a>, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
from his book <\/span>The Betrayed Profession<\/span><\/em><\/a>, on the profession needing to <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
live up to its rhetoric of providing justice for all. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\"scales<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
“[T]here is one area where few lawyers can avoid discomfort<\/span><\/span><\/span> when looking at their profession.\u00a0 The rhetoric of the profession<\/span><\/span><\/span> has long insisted that our system is one of ‘justice for all,’ that<\/span><\/span><\/span> our court must not ‘ration justice,’ but the visible truth is that we<\/span><\/span><\/span> are not living up to our professed beliefs.”\u00a0 [at 145] <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We have also <\/span>pointed to<\/span><\/a> studies showing\u00a0(1) that 80% or more<\/span> of the legal<\/span><\/span><\/span> needs of the poor and working poor currently are unmet in the United States.<\/span><\/span><\/span> And, (2) “over 150 million citizens of the ‘Land of the Free’ are legally disen<\/span><\/span><\/span>franchised” from our expensive, inaccessible court system. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\"priceReducedN\"<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> I agree with Brodsky that most of\u00a0the legal needs of the average American<\/span><\/span><\/span> rarely, if ever, require skills that warrant fees that “pay 10 to 20 times their<\/span><\/span><\/span> own hourly wage.”\u00a0\u00a0 I disagree with Carolyn’s view that Brodsky “competes,<\/span><\/span><\/span> proudly and flagrantly, on price alone.”\u00a0 His pitch very much focuses on the<\/span><\/span><\/span> fact that you needn’t sacrifice quality to get lower fees at his law firm — al<\/span><\/span><\/span>though you may have to give up fancy surroundings.\u00a0 In <\/span>addition to many<\/span><\/span><\/span> testimonials on his service and dedication, the website <\/span>asserts:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“That’s 70% lower than the average law firm, even though we have<\/span><\/span><\/span> the same (or more) experience, the same (or better) education,<\/span><\/span><\/span> and superior compassion & responsiveness.” <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Carolyn is correct, though, that more information about the firm and its<\/span><\/span><\/span> principal member would be very nice.\u00a0 It took me some research to discover<\/span><\/span><\/span> that Brodsky is “Steve Brodsky,” who is actually <\/span>Steven Charles Brodsky<\/span><\/a>,<\/span><\/span><\/span> a graduate of Fordham Law School, and member of the NY Bar since 1997. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Also, I’ve\u00a0never liked it when solos try to make their firm appear to have more than one lawyer.\u00a0 If Steve has associates or partners, he should tell us about<\/span><\/span><\/span> them, too.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

O<\/em>f course, I cannot vouch for the quality of the work at The Brodsky Law<\/span><\/span><\/span> Firm. <\/span>But, I can tell you that some of the very best and most dedicated<\/span><\/span><\/span> lawyers I <\/span>know have charged fees far below the average in their area —<\/span><\/span><\/span> and become <\/span>quite unpopular with their brethren at the bar when they do. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I’m happy to <\/span>hear that Steve Brodsky is making fee levels an issue and I wish more law<\/span>yers would do so.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"OhioMap\"<\/span><\/span><\/span> Oh-Oh-Ohio<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 With that said, I’m sorry to have to tell you that — despite our<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> call to arms<\/span><\/a> — \u00a0the <\/span>Ohio State Bar Association<\/span><\/a> has recommended to the\u00a0Ohio<\/span><\/span><\/span> Supreme Court\u00a0that the State’s revamped lawyer ethical rules be promulgated<\/span><\/span><\/span> with the following Comment to <\/span>proposed<\/span><\/a> Rule 7.1:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
4] Characterization of rates or fees chargeable by the lawyer or law<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> firm such as\u00a0\u201ccut-rate,\u201d \u201clowest,\u201d \u201cgiveaway,\u201d \u201cbelow cost,\u201d \u201cdiscount,\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> or \u201cspecial\u201d is misleading.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[see Letter<\/a> of Feb. 15, 2006, with attached Report<\/a>.]\u00a0 That’s right: discount<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> advertising shall be deemed per se<\/em> misleading. The Ohio Bar also recom<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>mended that the Supreme Court remove from the proposal of the Court’s<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> rule-change Commission a provision that lawyers be required (for matters<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> above <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>$500) to com<\/span><\/span>municate in writing<\/em> with a client <\/span><\/span>concerning the scope of<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> en<\/span><\/span><\/span>gagement<\/span><\/span> and the basis or rate of <\/span><\/span>fees and expenses. <\/span><\/span><\/span>[Proposed Rules<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> 1.2(c) <\/span><\/span><\/span>and 1.5(b)] See Your Editor’s Comments to the Ohio Supreme Court,<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> on the <\/span><\/span><\/span>above issues,\u00a0here<\/a>. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>[Note<\/em>: Our efforts failed. The Ohio Bar included the ban on advertising discount fees in its recommendations to the Ohio Supreme Court, which included the provision in the Comment to Rule 7.1<\/a>, which has been in effect since February 2007.]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"penny Remember: <\/span>Lawyer Lincoln Was a Bargain<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Where<\/span><\/span><\/span> did all that goodwill go?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Poet-accountant paul m<\/a> knows there are many things more<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span> important than profit:<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

mating antics<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
of a hummingbird<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
wind on the lake<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/span>shuttered room;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>I enter<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>with tulips<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

one sail remains<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

on the old windmill<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

spring clouds<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
drifting seed fluff . . . <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
the rented horse <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
knows an hour’s worth<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

paul m<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>“mating antics” –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Heron’s Nest<\/em> (<\/span>Dec. 2005<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
“shuttered room” & “one sail remains” – <\/span>finding the way<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/a> (Press Here, 2002)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
“drifting seed fluff” – <\/span>inside the mirror<\/span><\/em><\/a>: <\/span>RMA<\/em><\/span><\/a> 2005<\/em>; <\/span><\/span>The Heron’s Nest<\/span><\/em><\/a> (June 2005)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a seller\u00a0proclaims “you get what you pay for,” you can be fairly certain he’s afraid of price competition — and knows his product or service is over-priced (in relation to the skills needed to produce it and the cost of its production).\u00a0 So, I’m happy to see that Carolyn Elefant put the spotlight on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-19J","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4447"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12722,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447\/revisions\/12722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}