Patty is a paralegal at a firm organized as a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). Joe, the associate attorney, comes to Patty and asks her to bill two clients for the same legal research he conducted, since it was on the same issue and would be useful for both clients. Additionally, Joe has directed Patty to bill his work as completed by the senior partner. When Patty pulls the file for both cases, she discovers that the written fee agreement is missing for both files; there is no electronic backup of this information.
Can Joe direct Patty and tell her what to do, since this is an LLP? Why or why not?
Can the firm bill both clients for the time spent by Joe? Can you describe a better way to bill the clients for Joe’s time?
Can the firm bill the client for work done by Joe as being completed by the senior partner? Why or why not?
Not all states require a written fee agreement. Do you think all states should require this to be in writing? Why or why not?