Texas Family Law Practice Manual, Third Edition, 2016 Practice Notes Page: 12
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Ethics and Malpractice Considerations
attorney assumes responsibility to the law itself because the attorney is an officer of the
court. Muniz v. State, 575 S.W.2d 408, 411 (Tex. Civ. App.-Corpus Christi 1978, writ
ref'd n.r.e.).
A Florida attorney was suspended for three months after he wrote letters prejudicial to
his clients' efforts to adopt a child. The attorney wrote the letters after getting into a fee
dispute with his clients in the adoption proceedings. The court held that, though the cli-
ents suffered no actual harm, the attorney's intentional and unjustifiable attempt to
injure them resulted from his allowing "personal prejudices to interfere with his profes-
sional responsibilities." The fee dispute arose after the clients had received the child but
before a final hearing. In a letter to the social worker assigned to the case, the attorney
intimated that the couple might not be financially able to care for the child and urged
further investigation. After the social worker refused to withdraw her favorable opin-
ion, the attorney wrote another letter that detailed the fee disagreement, indicated his
"distress" at having the child placed with his clients, and implied that he had concerns
about the couple's moral standards. Florida Bar v. Ball, 406 So. 2d 459, 460 (Fla.
1981).
An Ohio attorney was publicly reprimanded for uttering and transmitting obscene lan-
guage to the adverse party and to other attorneys in pending litigation because that con-
duct violated the disciplinary rule prohibiting lawyers from engaging in any conduct
that adversely reflects on fitness to practice law. Columbus Bar Ass'n v. Riebel, 432
N.E.2d 165 (Ohio 1982).
1.12 Attorney's Fees
1.12:1 Determination of Proper Fee
An attorney in good conscience should not charge or collect more than a reasonable fee.
However, a standard of "reasonableness" is too vague to be an appropriate standard in a
disciplinary action. For disciplinary purposes only, the attorney is subject to discipline
for an illegal or unconscionable fee. Tex. Disciplinary R. Prof'l Conduct 1.04 cmt. 1.
A fee is unconscionable if a competent attorney could not form a reasonable belief that
the fee is reasonable. Tex. Disciplinary R. Prof'l Conduct 1.04(a). The factors set out as
guidelines for ascertaining the reasonableness of a particular fee are-
1. the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved,
and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly;12
1.11
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State Bar of Texas. Family Law Section. Council. Texas Family Law Practice Manual, Third Edition, 2016 Practice Notes, book, 2016; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth838393/m1/40/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.