If such an email arrives, it usually means I have dropped the ball. The client has the right to be kept reasonably informed about the progress of his case, and the lawyer (not the client) should be the person doing the informing, at least that’s the position of this lawyer.
A lawyer does best to remember that, to a client walking through the door, there is no such thing as a simple or routine matter. She sees only a legal problem, her legal problem, and she wants you to solve it – but she wants more than that too. She also wants to understand her legal problem and wants to know how you are working to solve it.
Christian ethics is guided by God’s revelation in Scripture above other systems of thought as it seeks to love God and neighbor in every moral and ethical issue. The highest ethical duty of a Christian is the same as the greatest commandment: love God and love your neighbor.
One of the top complaints by clients about their lawyers is that lawyers do not return phone calls or keep them updated on the progress of their case. In the busy day-to-day activities of a law office, client calls can sometimes get lost. They stack up in voicemails, on sticky notes, or computer call logs.
Covering an Array of Important Topics. The purpose of Wayne Grudem’s Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning is to help readers apply a biblical worldview to difficult ethical issues, including wealth and poverty, marriage and divorce, birth control, abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, business practices, environmental stewardship, telling the truth, knowing God’s ...
Religion Online is designed to assist teachers, scholars and general “seekers” who are interested in exploring religious issues. Its aim is to develop an extensive library of resources, representing many different points of view, but all written from the perspective of sound scholarship.
We may also have particular principles which would govern our ethical standpoint: • Are we using pigs as a means to an end rather than valuing the life of the animal in itself?
Sean McDowell, Ph.D. is a professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, a best-selling author, popular speaker, and part-time high school teacher.Follow him on Twitter: @sean_mcdowell, TikTok, Instagram, and his blog: seanmcdowell.org.
Every Christian already has a set of ethical convictions, opinions, and ideas about what is morally right and wrong. These ethical beliefs have come from various sources—from an internal moral instinct (which God gives to every human being: Rom. 1:32; 2:14–16), family training, schools, traditions, and cultural beliefs.
Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty.It also incorporates natural law ethics, which is built on the belief that it is the very nature of humans – created in the image of God and capable of morality, cooperation, rationality, discernment ...
To avoid confusion by the client pertaining to what you went over, either over the phone or in a face-to-face meeting, it is beneficial to follow-up the verbal communication with a letter stating what you discussed, and explaining the law in easy-to-follow laymen’s terms. You should also explain to the client how the legal system will work in her particular matter. Tell her when and why documents will need to be signed, when court appearances may be necessary, and what to expect if she does go to court. Let the client know the possible outcomes of her legal problem. This allows her to be more involved in the handling of her case, and may lessen the surprise if she receives an unfavorable legal decision. It may also be helpful to develop written legal materials, such as fact-sheets and brochures, for common client questions or legal problems.
Say It In Writing . Lawyers should also send out periodic letters keeping clients updated on the status of their case. Not only will a letter keep a client informed of her legal matter, it is likely to avoid unnecessary and time consuming client phone calls (which often occur because clients want to know the status of their cases). A letter should always be mailed with copies of pleadings that are filed or received on behalf of clients. Letters should also be sent when something new develops in a client’s case. If nothing has happened in your client’s case for awhile, the first thing to do is ask yourself, “why not?” Is there something that you, as the lawyer, could be doing to expedite the legal process and move the client’s case along? If not, and there is a legitimate lull in the case, send an update letter to the client on at least a monthly basis as a reassurance that you have not forgotten about her and her legal problem. The letter can be very short, but it is guaranteed to garner attention and appreciation from your client.
A lawyer’s failure to effectively communicate with her client can greatly increase a client’s fears and frustrations. It adds to a client’s skepticism and gives lawyers a bad reputation. In order to ensure a client’s trust in both the lawyer and legal system, and to meet our ethical obligations , lawyers can and should follow the aforementioned simple steps to adequately inform and involve clients in their legal matters.
The client, who often has no idea how the legal system works, is dependent on the attorney for current case information, an explanation of the law, and a fair assessment of her case. A lawyer’s failure to effectively communicate with her client can greatly increase a client’s fears and frustrations.
If you cannot get back to a client the same day you receive a call , seek another solution. Have a member of your staff or another lawyer in your firm call the client back in order to acknowledge her call and let her know when you will be getting back to her.
One of the top complaints by clients about their lawyers is that lawyers do not return phone calls or keep them updated on the progress of their case. In the busy day-to-day activities of a law office, client calls can sometimes get lost. They stack up in voicemails, on sticky notes, or computer call logs.
Often this means that long hours are required to prepare and best serve the client. As well as that, a lawyer is often judged by the number of billable hours they record during a year, so there can be pressure to work longer and harder in order to succeed and progress their career.
This lesson is part of Issues Christian Lawyers Face, a study guide produced by The Theology of Work Project in partnership with Steven Moe, for the New Zealand Christian Lawyers national conference in May 2017. Click the Table of Contents on the right of this page to see the entire curriculum.
It’s impossible to work only with people who share your beliefs. Paul recognized this in 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 when he wrote, “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons, not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world.” Paul feared the influence of hypocritical Christians on the early church, but he wasn’t worried about any threat from unbelievers. This mirrors Jesus’ instruction to “let your light shine before others” ( Matthew 5:16 ). Retreating from the secular world, even with all its faults, was as impractical 2000 years ago as it is today.
John has been working for two years at a medium sized firm. He has never been summoned in to the Managing Partner’s office before but that is where he has found himself. He sits beside his supervising partner and feels nervous while looking around the large room. On the wall are various awards and recognitions. The Managing Partner finally turns from his screen and John feels the full force of his cool stare, “So tell me John, what is the issue here with this particular client?”.
The very factors that make attorneys’ services valuable – their knowledge of the law and the specialized training that leads their clients to place trust in them – lead to special scrutiny of attorneys’ payment relationships. The attorney-client relationship is a fiduciary relationship and, just as in other fiduciary relationship, the attorney’s dealings with the beneficiary – the client – are subject to special legal scrutiny. As one Illinois court has put it: The law places special obligations upon an attorney by virtue of the relationship between attorney and client. Those obligations are summed up and referred to generally as the fiduciary duty of the attorney. They permeate all phases of the relationship, including the contract for payment.
Although many While the “joint responsibility” provision may allow a lawyer to accept a “referral fee” even if the lawyer performs no work, such fees come at a cost. As a comment to the rule notes, “joint responsibility ” means financial and ethical responsibility for the representation as if the lawyers were associated in a partnership.” Rule 1.5, Cmt. 7. That means that, if the lawyer accepts the fee, the lawyer may also be jointly responsible
Under Rule 1.5(a) a lawyer may not “make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee.” By its terms, the rule requires reasonableness to be assessed not only at the time the fee agreement is entered, but also when attorneys bill for services or attempt to collect the fees they are owed by the client. It is therefore possible to violate Rule 1.5 if an attorney seeks to enforce a fee agreement that, while reasonable at the time, was rendered unreasonable by subsequent events. For example, in In re Gerard, 132 Ill.2d 507, 548 N.E.2d 1051 (1989), a lawyer was found to have violated Rule 1.5 after charging a contingency fee based on the value of account assets located for an elderly client. While, at the time the lawyer had been hired, the client had believed accounts were being wrongfully withheld from him, in fact the accounts were not the subject of any adverse claim, but were turned over willingly by the banks holding them once they learned of the client’s whereabouts – requiring little in the way of attorney professional services. More generally, fees are frequently found to be unreasonable when the lawyer does not perform competent work, or neglects a matter, but nevertheless seeks to be paid the full fee for which he or she has contracted. See, e.g., Attorney Grievance Comm'n of Maryland v. Garrett, 427 Md. 209, 224, 46 A.3d 1169, 1178 (2012); Rose v. Kentucky Bar Ass'n, 425 S.W.3d 889, 891 (Ky. 2014).
At their outset, the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (referenced herein throughout as the “Model Rules” or, individual, the “Rule”) require lawyers to serve their clients with competence (Rule 1.1), diligence (Rule 1.3) and loyalty – requiring them to avoid, or at least disclose, ways in which the attorney’s interests may conflict with those of the client. See, generally, Model Rules 1.6-1.8. The attorney-client relationship is also commercial, with the attorney typically entitled to demand payment from the client for services rendered. That commercial relationship inherently creates the potential for conflict. No matter how much the client may appreciate the attorney’s work, it would always be in the client’s best interests to avoid paying for it. Similarly, as much as the attorney may be motivated by genuine respect and admiration for the client, the attorney could always be paid more.
Attorneys commonly use retainers to secure payment of their legal fees and costs. The word “retainer,” however, has a variety of different meanings – and those different meanings result in different application of the relevant ethical rules.
A lawyer shall not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses. The factors to be considered in determining the reasonableness of a fee include the following:
If the lawyer does not have you involved in the process, then he should, at a minimum, be sending you one or two sentence emails informing you of where he is in the process. As an attorney, I never like to get an email from the client asking about the status of his case. If such an email arrives, it usually means I have dropped the ball. The client has the right to be kept reasonably informed about the progress of his case, and the lawyer (not the client) should be the person doing the informing, at least that’s the position of this lawyer.
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This unit introduces the core behaviours for people professionals, focusing on ethical practice to create value. It considers how certain ways of thinking and acting should be universally consistent, even in new and challenging situations, to promote a sense of wellbeing and inclusivity in the organisation.
The purpose of the briefing paper is to demonstrate the role of HR in practising and promoting professional values, ethics and principles within organisations. The paper should include and address the following points:
Self-reflection is a valuable means of analysing, identifying and recording how improvements can be made to your professional practice. In this task, you are required to write a reflective journal that considers how you perform at work and in your studies, and how you develop your skills and abilities.
Christian ethics is guided by God’s revelation in Scripture above other systems of thought as it seeks to love God and neighbor in every moral and ethical issue.
Some issues in certain societies are relatively recent, like legalized abortion and same-sex marriage. Other issues are more universal and perennial, like general sexual issues or the justification of self defense and war. Sometimes God has spoken clearly and directly about an ethical issue (e.g. do not steal), but there are other topics that could not have been directly addressed in the Bible (e.g. issues that require contemporary technology, like genetic engineering or in vitro fertilization ). Even when the Bible does not specifically speak to an issue, there are biblical principles that can be relied upon to make an informed moral judgment.
Moral goodness is defined by the nature of God, and everything he commands is in accordance with his perfect and righteous goodness.
Their second highest ethical duty is to love their neighbor as themselves. For a Christian, fulfilling these moral obligations takes place in obedience to the Law of Christ and submission to the teachings of God’s Word. The ultimate goal is to glorify God in everything that is said, done, thought, and felt.
We must obey every word of God because every word he gives us flows from his character, and his character is infinite and absolute moral perfection. God does not measure himself against an abstract standard of goodness; he does not consult anything other than his own nature when he issues commands and moral rules.
To properly assess ethical conduct requires knowledge of the action, the circumstances in which the action occurred, the agent’s character and intentions, and possibly some of the consequences. The Pharisees may impress others by their religious good works, but God looks at the heart.
The principle behind the law, though, is that we are take reasonable precautions to keep people safe, and that is an ethical idea that applies in every culture. The principle is the same, even if some of the forms of application in a particular culture can differ.