Professional Liability Blog

IntroductionIn Storino, Ramello & Durkin v. Rackow, 45 N.E.3d 307 (Ill. App. 1 Dist. 2015), a law firm prevailed in seeking nearly $110,000 in attorney fees from its former clients under a contingency fee agreement that rewarded the firm based on how much was saved in special assessments the Village of Bensenville had sought to impose. Despite the law firm’s win against its former clients, the opportunity cost and resources spent litigating the interpretation and application of the contingency fee agreement likely rendered the firm’s victory bittersweet.

IntroductionIn Erie-Huron Cnty. Bar Assn. v. Smith, 2016 WL 911280 (Ohio Mar. 10, 2016), the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the Board of Professional Conduct’s ruling to indefinitely suspend a solo-practicing attorney’s law license. The Supreme Court held an indefinite suspension was warranted due to the attorney’s failure to file bankruptcy petitions on behalf of his clients, failure to return advanced fees, failure to deposit advanced funds into a client trust account, and failure to notify clients he lacked professional liability insurance.