Oregon Legal Research Blog
There were several interesting articles in the August / September 2010 Oregon State Bar (OSB) Bulletin (or link from OSB archives), including one on “missing and misunderstood” evidence, another on unbundled legal practice (aka limited scope legal assistance), and this one on lawyers who don’t pay other lawyers for costs incurred on their clients’ behalf (behalves?).
Lawyers will want to read the article and non-lawyers may find the analysis of the legal ethics and associated legal issues generated by the question not a little bit instructive (or educational, if you prefer):
The article, Bar Counsel: Dealing with Debts: There Oughtta Be a Rule! (But There Isn’t), by Sylvia Stevens (OSB Executive Director):
Excerpt: “Recently, I heard from an arbitrator (a respected trial lawyer of many years’ experience) who was distressed at being “stiffed” when the lawyer for one of the parties in an arbitration refused to pay the arbitrator’s fee on the ground that he was unable to collect it from his client. My caller was certain he had seen authority in years past obligating lawyers to pay the litigation expenses of other professionals that were incurred on behalf of their clients. I replied that I was not aware of any such authority in Oregon. Moreover, I had always believed that the issue was governed by agency law and was not a matter of professional regulation….” (Link to full article.)