道德意见225
预付法律服务
A law firm does not violate any Rule of Professional Conduct by participating in a prepaid legal services program under which a third-party (1) pays 澳门赌场官网事务所 a fee for providing legal advice to individual subscribers and (2) markets the service to potential subscribers, 个人订户经协商同意第三方支付澳门赌场官网事务所费用的.
管理澳门赌场官网-客户关系的通常规则完全适用于事务所与其客户的关系, 个人订户, 包括, 例如, 勤勉热情地代表客户利益的责任, 不受任何第三方干扰, 保护客户的机密和秘密, 并避免相互冲突的陈述会妨碍客户充分的代表. 除了, 第三方营销代理对服务的介入并不解除澳门赌场官网事务所在规则7下的责任.避免对本计划所提供的服务作出任何虚假或误导性陈述.
适用的规则
- 规则1.3(勤奋与热情)
- 规则1.6(客户机密)
- 规则1.7(利益冲突)
- 规则1.8(e)(第三方支付的法律费用)
- 规则5.4(e)(干扰独立的专业判断)
- 规则5.5(非法执业)
- 规则7.1(关于澳门赌场官网服务的通讯)
调查
公司, which publishes a bi-monthly newsletter concerning legal and tax developments that affect churches and clergy and presents continuing education seminars for church leaders, proposes to offer a new service under which subscribers to the new service will obtain general legal advice about federal tax issues concerning matters such as (1) withholding, 报告, 缴纳联邦所得税和社会保障税, (2)根据《澳门赌场官方软件》第107条免除部长的住房津贴, (3)根据法典第170条扣除对教会的捐款. 用户只需缴纳大约100美元的年费，就可以通过这项服务进行无限制的查询.
A公司将向潜在订户推销这项服务，并保留订户的记录, 但不会参与提供法律咨询. Each subscriber will sign a contract specifying the nature of the services available; the types of services that are not available; the relationships among 公司, 澳门赌场官网事务所, and the subscriber; disclosing that 澳门赌场官网事务所's fee will be paid by 公司; prohibiting 公司 from interfering with the attorney-client relationship between 澳门赌场官网事务所 and the subscriber; and seeking the subscriber's consent to payment of 澳门赌场官网事务所's fee by 公司.
具体而言，我们被告知认购协议将包括以下段落:
Lawyer-client关系. [公司] and the [subscriber] agree that any legal services provided to the [subscriber] under this Agreement will be provided by one or more licensed attorneys who are paid a fee by, 但并非[A公司]的雇员, 并熟悉[A公司的出版物]所涉及的主题. 据此，[认购人]和[公司A]同意:
(a)当[订户]获得服务时, (订阅者)与提供服务的澳门赌场官网或澳门赌场官网之间存在澳门赌场官网-客户关系;
(b) [公司] will not interfere in any manner with the attorneys' independence of professional judgment or with the lawyer-client relationship described in paragraph (a);
(c) Confidences and secrets disclosed by the [subscriber] to any attorney providing the services to the [subscriber] will not be disclosed by the attorney to [公司] or any other person without the [subscriber's] prior consent;
(d) [A公司]及其任何负责人, 合作伙伴, 或者员工不承担任何损害赔偿的责任, 处罚, or interest in any way on the provision of erroneous information or advice under this Agreement; and
(e)已阅读并理解上述(a)至(d)段。, the [subscriber] consents to the payment of a fee for the services by [公司] to the attorney or attorneys who provide the services under this Agreement.
订户合同被A公司接受后, 订阅者将获得一个电话号码和帐号，用于获得协议项下的服务.
初学的, 哥伦比亚特区的一家澳门赌场官网事务所, 建议与A公司签订合同，安排一名或多名经验丰富的税务澳门赌场官网解答认购人的问题. 该公司的收费标准尚未确定. 个人订户不会直接向澳门赌场官网事务所支付合同项下提供的任何服务, but 公司 and 澳门赌场官网事务所 recognize that the firm would be providing legal advice to individual calling subscribers and that the firm's client in each instance would be the subscriber and not 公司.
合同范围以外的服务, 认购人将被建议聘请个人澳门赌场官网. 订阅者可以自由选择以“按服务收费”的方式聘请澳门赌场官网事务所或聘请其他澳门赌场官网.
讨论
《澳门赌场官方软件》中没有任何内容意在限制或阻碍使用提供基本法律服务的创新方法.1 正如委员会在解释《澳门赌场官网》时所解释的那样, “预付法律服务计划本身并没有什么不妥之处. Innovative approaches and fresh ideas in this area may result in the availability of necessary low-cost legal services to individuals who could not previously afford to employ an attorney. 这种更广泛的可用性是这个行业正在而且应该致力于实现的目标. 委员会鼓励发展提供法律服务的新办法, 只要这些方法符合旨在保护公众和专业的普遍和公认的道德行为规范.意见No. 91 (1980).
规则1.8
由于A公司将向澳门赌场官网事务所支付合同项下的服务费，规则1.8 (e)要求客户(i.e., the individual subscriber) "consent[] after consultation."2 提案的核心是支付给a公司一笔相对较小的费用, 订阅者将享有有限的, 就某些类型的联邦税收问题提供一般法律建议. 如上所述, the agreement between 公司 and subscribers to the service explains that 澳门赌场官网事务所's fees for services under the contract will be paid by 公司, 说明认购人和澳门赌场官网事务所之间将存在的关系的性质, 保证A公司不会干涉认购人与公司之间的澳门赌场官网-客户关系, 并要求认购人同意由A公司支付费用. 在这方面，我们认为规则1的要求.8(e)人对这些规定感到满意.
规则5.5
意见No. 182 we considered a very different sort of proposal under which lawyers who were both employees of a consulting firm and 合作伙伴 in a law firm provided legal services to law firm clients who had no relationship with the consulting firm. 客户按标准费率向澳门赌场官网事务所支付费用, and 澳门赌场官网事务所 proposed to compensate the consulting firm for the time spent by the lawyers employed by the consulting firm in serving 澳门赌场官网事务所's clients. 在这种情况下，我们解释说:
当一个非专业组织销售时, loans or rents the time of lawyers to be engaged in the practice of law on behalf of clients unrelated to the lay organization at rates that are expected to return a profit to that organization, 非专业组织从事未经授权的执业法律“业务”. 同样的, 协助或参与此类程序的澳门赌场官网事务所将违反DR 3-101(a)，协助未经授权的法律实践.
第1号意见中的关键事实. 182项是(1)非专业咨询公司的雇员(2)为澳门赌场官网事务所的客户提供法律服务, (三)澳门赌场官网事务所应当向咨询公司支付费用的. 意见没有. 94 is similar in that it involved a proposal to have lawyers employed in the general counsel's office of a trade association provide legal services to another association for a fee to be paid to the lawyers' employer. 我们核准了第10号意见. 94次求婚. 不赞成第1号意见中的建议. 然而，我们对第182号意见的结果表示异议. 94，理由是内部澳门赌场官网将向其提供法律服务的实体是一个有关的行业协会.
与第2号意见所审议的两项建议相反. 182和94, 为A公司的认购人提供法律服务的澳门赌场官网不是A公司的雇员. A公司员工不参与为任何人提供法律服务. 因此, A公司收到的补偿完全是由于其努力建立, 市场营销, 管理服务, 而不是提供法律服务. 在这种情况下, A公司不能通过其任何雇员的活动说其从事法律业务.
规则7.1
公司A(而不是澳门赌场官网事务所)将为这项服务招揽潜在的订户. 尽管如此，规则7.关于澳门赌场官网服务的来文的第1条规定完全适用.3 法律咨询是提供给潜在用户的服务. 营销代理人的介入并不减少澳门赌场官网避免对其服务作出虚假或误导性陈述的义务. 相应的, 澳门赌场官网事务所必须确信A公司关于服务的陈述在规则7的意义上不是虚假的或误导性的.1. 特别是, it is essential that both the limited nature of the services being offered and the possibility of additional expense be described clearly to avoid misleading potential subscribers as to what is being purchased. Cf. 意见没有. 91 (1980).
其他规则
正如双方所认识到的，个人认购人而不是A公司将是澳门赌场官网事务所的客户. 澳门赌场官网对个人订户的义务将包括所有澳门赌场官网对其客户的日常职责，包括, 例如, (一)保守秘密和秘密的义务, 规则1.6, (2)代表个人认购人在不受A公司或其他任何人干扰的情况下进行独立的专业判断, 规则1.8 (e)和5.4(c), (3)拒绝任何可能与个人认购人的忠诚义务或热心代表相冲突的代表, 规则1.7. 相应的, 根据上述规定, 我们发现《澳门赌场官方软件》中没有任何内容阻止澳门赌场官网事务所参与提供拟议的服务.
调查没有. 91-6-21
1992年1月
1. 委员会审议了根据《澳门赌场官方软件》提出的几项预付法律服务建议. 意见没有. 170 (1986); 意见没有. 155 (1985); 意见没有. 91 (1980); 意见没有. 30 (1977).
2. 规则1.8(e) provides that "A lawyer shall not accept compensation for representing a client from one other than the client unless: (1) the client consents after consultation; (2) there is no interference with the lawyer's independence of professional judgment or with the client-lawyer relationship; and information relating to representation of a client is protected as required by 规则1.6."
就《澳门赌场官方软件》而言, “‘同意’是指当事人非强制同意所建议的行动方案, 在就有关事项与澳门赌场官网协商后.术语[2]. 类似的, "'consult' or 'consultation' denotes communication of information reasonably sufficient to permit the client to appreciate the significance of the matter in question.术语[3].
3. 规则7.其有关部分如下:
(a)澳门赌场官网不得就其本人或澳门赌场官网的服务作出虚假或误导性的通知. 在下列情况下，通信是虚假的或误导性的:(1)包含对法律事实的重大错误陈述, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading; or
(二)对澳门赌场官网或者澳门赌场官网提供的服务有不能证实的主张的.
(b)澳门赌场官网不得寻求亲自接触, 或者通过中介, 由未就雇佣澳门赌场官网征求澳门赌场官网意见的非澳门赌场官网人员雇佣(或雇佣合伙人或合伙人), if:
(1)征集涉及使用虚假或具有误导性的陈述或主张, 在(a)款的意义范围内;
(二)使用不当影响的;
(3)潜在客户明显处于身体或精神状态，不太可能行使合理的权利, 对选择澳门赌场官网的慎重判断;
(4) The solicitation involves use of an intermediary and the lawyer knows or could reasonably ascertain that such conduct violates the intermediary's contractual or other legal obligations; or
(5) The solicitation involves the use of an intermediary and the lawyer has not taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the potential client is informed of (a) the consideration, 如果有任何, 由澳门赌场官网支付或将支付给中介, (b)效果, 如果有任何, 支付给中介人的总费用中要收取的.
(c) A lawyer shall not knowingly assist an organization that furnishes or pays for legal services to others to promote the use of the lawyer's services or those of the lawyer's partner or associate, 或与该澳门赌场官网或其澳门赌场官网事务所有关联的任何其他澳门赌场官网, 作为一名私人医生, 如果促销活动涉及使用胁迫, 胁迫, 冲动, 恐吓, 威胁, 或无理取闹或骚扰行为."
