III. WHY LAWYERS OVERBILL for Ky Can an Attorney Overbill /Fradulent Billing?

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TIMESHEETS AND TRAPS: ETHICS IN BILLING AND COLLECTING FEES

First Run Broadcast: January 27, 20091:00 p.m. E.T./12:00 p.m. C.T./11:00 a.m. M.T./10:00 a.m. P.T.

(60 minutes)

Attorneys are required by the rules of professional responsibility to adhere to clientobjectives in a representation, including cost containment and efficiency, and to keepclients reasonably apprised of progress in the case, including the accumulation of billablehours and other expenses. Increased competition in the legal marketplace, rising associatesalaries, client cost-cutting, and other pressures are throwing new light on attorney ethicalobligations in billing and collecting fees. This program will review the rules applicableto billing practices and common areas of ethical liability, and discuss best practices for lawyers and law firms to avoid liability.

•

Law firm economics and pressure points

•

Vague time sheet descriptions

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Double-billing

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Internal firm conferences

•

Duplication of efforts, inefficient staffing, transient billers

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Cost recovery issues

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Best practices for avoiding liability

Douglas Richmond

is Senior Vice President in the Professional Services Group of AONRisk Services, the world’s largest broker of lawyers’ professional liability insurance,where he consults with Aon’s law firm clients on professional responsibility and liabilityissues. Before joining Aon in Chicago, Mr. Richmond was a partner with ArmstrongTeasdale LLP in Kansas City, Missouri, where he had a national trial and appellate practice. In 1998, he was named the nation’s top defense lawyer in an insurance industry poll as reported in the publications

Inside Litigation

and

Of Counsel

. He is a member of the American Law Institute, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the InternationalAssociation of Defense Counsel, and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel.He has published roughly 50 articles in university law reviews, and many more articles inother scholarly and professional journals. Mr. Richmond teaches Legal Ethics at the Northwestern University School of Law and he is a regular National Institute of TrialAdvocacy faculty member. Mr. Richmond received his B.S. from Fort Hays StateUniversity., his M. Ed. from the University of Nebraska, and his J.D. from the Universityof Kansas.

VT Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Registration Form

Please complete all of the requested information, print this application, and fax with credit info or mail itwith payment to: Vermont Bar Association, PO Box 100, Montpelier, VT 05601-0100. Fax: (802) 223-1573

PLEASE USE ONE REGISTRATION FORM PER PERSON.

First Name Middle Initial Last NameFirm/OrganizationAddressCity State ZIP CodePhone # (000-000-0000) Fax # (000-000-0000)E-Mail Address

I will be attending:

TIMESHEETS AND TRAPS: ETHICS IN BILLING AND COLLECTING FEES,

TELESEMINAR

January

27

, 2009

Early Registration Discount (By

01/20

) Registrations Received After

01/

20

VBA Members: $

60.00

Non-

VBA Members/Atty: $

70.00

VBA Members: $

70.00

Non-VBA Members/Atty: $

80.00

NO REFUNDS AFTER

January 20, 2009

Please note: Due to New Hampshire Bar regulations, teleseminars cannot be used forNew Hampshire CLE credit

PAYMENT METHOD:

Check enclosed (made payable to Vermont Bar Association) Amount:Credit Card (VISA

,

MASTERCARD

and American Express

)

Credit Card # Exp. DateCardholder

Vermont Bar AssociationSeminar Survey

TIMESHEETS AND TRAPS: ETHICS IN BILLING AND COLLECTING FEES

Teleseminar

January 2

7

, 2009

1. Rate the sound quality of theseminar: ___ Good ___ Fair ___ Poor 2. Were the course materials a useful adjunctto the presentations? ___ Yes ___ No3. Will the course materials be useful to youaside from this course? ___ Yes ___ No4. How was the program overall? ___ Good balance of contents ___ Not enough subjects covered ___ Too many subjects covered ___ Presentation confusing5. Was the level of the program what youexpected? ___ Yes ___ No6. Was this program worth your time andmoney? ___ Yes ___ No7. Would you register to participate in futuretelephone seminars? ___ Yes ___ No8. TOPIC PRESENTATIONS: For each presentation, please evaluate the content and the delivery of presentation, on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 = excellent and 1 = poor.Presenters

Douglas Richmond

Content ______ ______ ______ ______ Delivery ______ ______ ______ ______ 9. How could this program be improved, in your opinion?_________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 10. What programs could the Vermont Bar Association offer that you would register to attend? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: Please return this evaluation to Vermont Bar Association, PO Box 100, Montpelier, VT 05601-0100 or by fax: 802-223-1573. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

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