Cunningham's Counsel Corner

Better for you, your law firm, AND your clients.

Arbitration agreements in client engagement letters are a key element of law firm risk management. By addressing dispute resolution at the outset of the attorney–client relationship, law firms can reduce exposure to drawn-out public litigation, manage costs, and bring greater predictability to malpractice and fee disputes.

Benefits for Law Firm Risk Management

Arbitration provisions in engagement agreements can provide law firms with a valuable safeguard against the unpredictability of traditional litigation. One of the ...

Staten Island resident, Richard Hoffmann, is making headlines for choosing to represent himself as a defendant in a civil lawsuit against his former employer using AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok. Hoffmann called his strategy a “checkmate,” boasting that the AI helped him draft pleadings, simulate arguments, and file motions without the expense of retaining an attorney. That's Fenix Capital Funding LLC v. Hoffmann, Richmond County Supreme Court, Index No. 151973/2025, for anyone that wants to follow along.

“I used AI to game out every possible move,” said ...

Clarity is our most powerful tool, with ambiguity being pure liability. Attorney-client engagement agreements are contracts, viewed by Courts and Attorney Disciplinary Committees with the (appropriate) skepticism of a contract of adhesion. One of the most effective ways law firms can protect themselves is by precisely defining and documenting the scope of representation.

This risk management best practice is grounded in ABA Model Rule 1.2(a), which states: “A lawyer shall abide by a client’s decisions concerning the objectives of representation and… shall consult ...

I got a bad result for a client last week. It was totally expected but still hurts. I'd explained the risks, prepared him for the outcome, (documented everything) and mentally braced myself. But when the decision came in, there was still that sinking feeling. Not just for the client but for me too. It's not that I believed we would win, but that familiar ache crept in, the one that comes with not being able to change the ending.

This is a warning bell for compassion fatigue begins. It starts small and slow, not with the dramatic collapse of mental health, but an unnoticed erosion of emotional ...

Much like Churchill's take on democracy, the billable hour is the worst form of billing, except for all the others that have been tried. While attorney hourly billing has always been a strange beast, technology is now letting lawyers bill by the minute instead of the traditional six-minute increment.

This absurdity shows just how far we’re willing to contort our profession to preserve a fundamentally broken system. Sure, billing by the minute might seem like progress and a nod toward fairness, maybe even transparency. But we’re arguing over the most efficient way to carve up an ...

Settlement payments are among the highest-stakes transactions law firms handle. Whether the funds arrive by check, wire, cryptocurrency, foreign currency transfer, or wampum, how a firm processes them can be the difference between a seamless close and a six-figure loss—or worse, an ethics complaint. Fraud, malpractice risk, and ethical pitfalls abound. But with the right systems, you can manage them all.

Plaintiff-side or defense, before any funds are received or disbursed, firms should confirm all settlement terms in writing. That includes the gross amount, any deductions ...

A lawyer’s duty to keep clients informed is a cornerstone of the attorney-client relationship, grounded in the rules of professional conduct and essential to client autonomy.

Duty to Inform: The Baseline Rule

Under ABA Model Rule 1.4, a lawyer must:

Keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter. Promptly comply with reasonable requests for information. Explain matters to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation.

This duty reflects the broader ethical principle that the client—not the ...

Mistakes happen. Not even the best lawyers and law firms can catch everything that slips through the cracks.

On top of that, any client can bring a bogus legal malpractice claim or file a frivolous ethics grievance - it is essentially as easy as a bad Yelp review. Even if you get it disposed of early, your insurance premiums are likely going up, your people won’t be billing, and your firm will take a PR hit on Google.

Hope for the best while you plan for the worst. A simple system can address almost any client claim:

• Check retainer agreement, review privity element closely
• Review breach ...

File retention is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of legal practice. Law firms are ethically and legally obligated to maintain client files in a manner that protects confidentiality, ensures accessibility, and aligns with client interests. While some states have specific time periods and document types, most do not. Managing these obligations while mitigating liability requires a thoughtful, and documented, retention policy.

At the heart of file retention are several core ethical duties. First is the duty to safeguard client property. Under Rule 1.15 (Safekeeping ...

Your law firm's engagement agreement is your absolute first and best line of defense. Keep in mind that only clients can sue you for legal malpractice (with extreme exceptions) and clients are by far your primary source of risk of attorney ethics complaints.

This month, pull out your template engagement agreement and make it better, for you, your firm, AND your clients.

16 Ways to Reinforce Your Engagement Agreement

1. Clear Language: Use plain language to ensure clients understand the terms, responsibilities, and legal implications - consider an intro/cover letter.
2. Define Scope of ...