A member of my congregation recently had the following problem with his local taxes
Soone it became apparent that this problem had escalated beyond his accountant's ability. He sought legal advice and was please to find out that an acquaintance -and an "Observant Jew" offered to take the case pro bono. You see this member in question's wife had helped the attorney's wife and he offered the pro bono agreement as a quid pro quo.
An informal agreement was reached. The attorney offered 10 free hours of service The litigant then proceeded to fax to the lawyer a whole bunch of documentation and left it at that. Meanwhile, the litigant and his wife tried to reason with the local jurisdiction. Within a few weeks, the litigant was able to negotiate a partial settlement.
Lo and Behold the Attorney pulled out and said that "now that the matter has been resolved" the offer for pro bono services has been fulfilled! The litigant was stunned! he came to me pleading that he did not expect the attorney to back out now. And there was no guarantee that the case was completely closed.
I guess the attorney has a right to withdraw given the fact that he received no considereation for his services - the question is: Was this an ethical termination of his offer?
KT
RRW
Originally Published 5/30/07
Soone it became apparent that this problem had escalated beyond his accountant's ability. He sought legal advice and was please to find out that an acquaintance -and an "Observant Jew" offered to take the case pro bono. You see this member in question's wife had helped the attorney's wife and he offered the pro bono agreement as a quid pro quo.
An informal agreement was reached. The attorney offered 10 free hours of service The litigant then proceeded to fax to the lawyer a whole bunch of documentation and left it at that. Meanwhile, the litigant and his wife tried to reason with the local jurisdiction. Within a few weeks, the litigant was able to negotiate a partial settlement.
Lo and Behold the Attorney pulled out and said that "now that the matter has been resolved" the offer for pro bono services has been fulfilled! The litigant was stunned! he came to me pleading that he did not expect the attorney to back out now. And there was no guarantee that the case was completely closed.
I guess the attorney has a right to withdraw given the fact that he received no considereation for his services - the question is: Was this an ethical termination of his offer?
KT
RRW
Originally Published 5/30/07
2 comments:
Usually you get what you pay for. In this case the guy actually got something for free. No complaints!
So if you were to pledge $100 and pay only $50 that's OK? -RRW
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