ALBANY – After incorporating several alterations resulting from complaints by practitioners and the New York State Bar Association, the Administrative Board of the Courts has adopted a new rule requiring attorneys to provide clients with a written letter of engagement. The rule, which will take effect March 4 but will not affect ongoing attorney-client relationships.
The rule is the last major recommendation in a series of proposal advanced nearly seven years ago by Louis A. Craco’s Committee on the Profession and the Courts. It is designed to alleviate what is often the source of disputes between lawyers and their clients: a basic misunderstanding of fees.
