News & Developments
California Court Upholds Binding Arbitration of Fee Dispute Under Retainer Agreement After Client Waives MFAA Rights
The California Court of Appeal upheld a law firm’s assertion of a right to rely upon a binding arbitration provision in the firm’s retainer agreement. Under this decision, a California law firm’s insisting on binding arbitration must insert such a provision in its retainer agreement and must offer the client a right to non-binding arbitration under a statute governing legal fee recovery. If the client fails to exercise this right, however, the firm may rely upon the agreement as written.
Proposed Federal Regulations Would Require All Government Contractors to Have a Compliance Program
Under proposed regulations expected to become effective during the summer of 2007, all persons contracting with the Federal Government will be required to develop written codes of ethics and business conduct and display Inspector General fraud hotline posters. Currently only selected agencies had required such written programs.
New Stakes in Doing Business With the Federal Government
Two recent decisions in the United States Court of Federal Claims highlight the risks of exaggeration and when false statements when presenting and prosecuting construction related claims. These cases imposed tens of millions of dollars in fines and forfeitures without finding significant damage to the Government.
