Re:Apple takes legal action against small company with pear ...
by patentatt on Saturday August 08, 2020 @10:34PM
(#24096844)
It’s a little more nuanced than that. Lawyers have ethical obligations to provide sound legal advice and counseling, whether they’re paid for it or not. As in, the legal ethics structure doesn’t really allow for (purposely and knowingly) doing a shoddy job. The lawyer could be on the hook for either doing a bunch of free work or getting disbarred by signing up to do a ‘bare minimum’ job. Maybe there should be a carve out for situations like this.
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Re:Apple takes legal action against small company with pear ...
by k_sze on Saturday August 08, 2020 @11:12PM
(#24096975)
I thought that's where law student interns come in. Basically law firms hire law students. When stuff like this comes up, the real lawyer can give hints to the law student and the law student goes talk with the client. The law student has no real obligation as far as the Bar goes (because they're just a student). The real lawyer also never made any direct advice to the client so they are also off the hook.
Re:Apple takes legal action against small company with pear ...
by networkimprov on Sunday August 09, 2020 @03:35AM
(#24098015)
Law students do not "talk with the client" in the US. They're not licensed, so are barred from giving legal advice.
Re:Apple takes legal action against small company with pear ...
by patentatt on Sunday August 09, 2020 @09:17AM
(#24099412)
In these sorts of legal clinics the students work under a supervising attorney who is ultimately responsible for the representation.
Re:Apple takes legal action against small company with pear ...
by linuxftw on Saturday August 08, 2020 @11:55PM
(#24097137)
> Maybe there should be a carve out for situations like this.
There already is one, it's called hourly billing. You come up with a reasonable plan, and you decide when to call it quits later if the bill gets too high.
Re:Apple takes legal action against small company with pear ...
by networkimprov on Sunday August 09, 2020 @03:38AM
(#24098022)
The point of a carve-out would be to avoid any billing.