FEAR AND LOATHING IN NEW ORLEANS: THE SORRY FATE OF THE KUTAK COMMISSION'S RULES

GERARD J. CLARK

Due to public criticism that the legal profession is slow and expensive, as well as comments from the Bench questioning the profession's competence, the Kutak Commission [which drafted the original 1983 Model Rules] was charged with finding ways to improve the delivery of legal services. After a day-long debate at the San Francisco meeting in August of 1982, the House of Delegates accepted a provision that legal fees be "reasonable." The opposition, which included the Pennsylvania Bar Association, sought to limit the prohibitions of the rule to fees that are "illegal or clearly unreasonable." At the San Francisco meeting, the delegates defeated a requirement that all retainer fee arrangements be in writing and instead passed a resolution stating a preference for writing. Additionally, a requirement of "client counsel" to fee-splitting arrangements was rejected in favor of client notice and failure to object