PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER EDITORIAL: …The [retired Justice Seamus] McCaffery mess should move the remaining Supreme Court justices to revisit the state’s limp rules on these fees. At the very least, the state’s ethical standards for lawyers should be brought into line with the national standards by which most states abide. In fact, the scandal that just roiled the highest ranks of the judiciary warrants going further in restricting referral fees or banning them outright.
The American Bar Association’s model rules require that lawyers receiving referral fees perform a proportionate amount of work or take joint responsibility for the cases in question. The model rules also require that such fees be disclosed to and approved by clients in writing, including the share each lawyer receives. Most states have adopted or gone beyond these reasonable restrictions.
Pennsylvania, however, is among a minority of states that are much more permissive. Its rules require only that clients be advised of and not object to referral fees, while the share each lawyer receives need not be disclosed. Nor does the state require lawyers receiving fees to perform any work or assume any responsibility… (more)
