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Lawyer cannot abandon appeal because client did not pay

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

§ 21:17 n. 3 A lawyer who failed to work on a filed immigration appeal because he had not been paid was referred to the Second Circuit's disciplinary panel. Bennett v. Mukasey, 2008 WL 2003777 (2d Cir. May 12, 2008) (Newman, J., in chambers). Pay-as-You-Go Lawyer Referred to 2nd Circuit's Grievance Panel on Law.com. From the opinion: By his own admission, Rosenthal evidently believes that a retainer agreement and initial payment for an appeal imposes upon counsel no obligation to pursue the appeal, that required steps may await further payment, and that a client’s appeal may be permitted to be defaulted and dismissed for lack of such further payment. The Lawyer’s Code of Professional Responsibility, as adopted by the New York State Bar Association (“NY Code”), makes clear that Rosenthal is incorrect...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on May 13, 2008 (boomark / email).