The First Appellate District denied a petition for writ of mandate. The court held that an attorney had no duty to explain the arbitration clause in his firm’s fee agreement to clients who were both sophisticated business people.
Desert Outdoor Advertising and Paul Jurich retained attorney Gerald Murphy to represent it in litigation. They executed a fee agreement that did not include an arbitration clause. During the course of litigation, Murphy changed law firms. Desert and Jurich followed Murphy to his new firm and executed a new fee agreement. This second agreement included an arbitration clause.
