Another Positive Ethics Opinion Regarding Outsourcing and Charging Fee as Client Expense

On August 14, 2009, The Supreme Court of Ohio, Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline issued Opinion 2009-6 (http://garretsonfirm.com/garretson/pdf/OhioEthicsOpiniononOutsourcingOp2009-006.pdf).  This opinion largely followed the logic of the ABA’s opinion in August of 2008 and the New York County Lawyers’ Association Ethics Committee in July of 2008 (Opinion 739).  The highlights of the Ohio opinion follow:

1. A lawyer is required to disclose and consult with a client and obtain informed consent before outsourcing legal or support services
2. Due diligence is required as to the qualifications and reputation of those to whom services are outsourced
3. Due diligence is required to make sure client confidences will be protected as the outsourced services are provided
4. The decision as to whether to bill a client for outsourced services as part of the legal fee or as an expense is left to the lawyer’s exercise of professional judgment
5. The decision to charge the fee to the client must be communicated to the client preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after commencing representation
6. The fee must be reasonable

With respect to due diligence as well as these important disclosures to claimants regarding lien resolution, we have prepared a comprehensive document (that can be emailed upon request) that contains:

1. a summary of the ethics opinions regarding “outsourcing” as well as passing our fee to the claimant as a case expense; 
2. disclosure language for the claimant; and
3. sample language for fee agreements with client going forward.

Should you want to read more about establishing a centralized and uniform approach to investigating and initiating lien resolution strategies, see our article, “Outsourcing Healthcare Lien Resolution: Eliminating the "hassle factor" and complying with new rules and regulations.”  [See http://www.garretsonfirm.com/garretson/news/?newsID=86].

Certainly do not hesitate to contact The Garretson Firm Resolution Group if you would like to discuss establishing a formalized procedure for partnering with our firm to resolve all healthcare-related issues (Medicare, Medicaid, Private Health/ERISA, etc).