Ethics and the Settlement of Civil Rights Cases: Can Attorneys Keep Their Virtue and Their Fees?

Authors

Lloyd B. Snyder, Cleveland State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1986

Publication Title

16 New Mexico Law Review 283 (1986)

Keywords

attorney's fees, Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act, ethics

Abstract

The Civil Rights Attorneys' Fees Award Act of 1976 authorizes an award of fees to the prevailing party in a civil rights action. The United State Supreme Court, in Evans v. Jeff D., has interpreted the Fees Act to authorize the parties in a civil rights action to negotiate settlement of fees and merits jointly. The Court did not determine whether joint fees-merits negotiation is ethical. The author of this article contends that joint negotiation is ethical. He further contends that it is ethical for plaintiff's attorney to reject an offer of settlement if the offer is coupled with a demand that he waive attorneys' fees.

Comments

Available in the Cleveland-Marshall Law Library Special Collections Archive

Repository Citation

Lloyd B. Snyder, Ethics and the Settlement of Civil Rights Cases: Can Attorneys Keep Their Virtue and Their Fees?, 16 New Mexico Law Review 283 (1986)

Volume

16