Alabama State Bar v. Hallett

A. Reinstating the Panel’s Findings of Violations

Although I believe we should reinstate the panel’s findings as to what rules Hal-lett violated, I do not agree with all the reasoning used by the panel or by the main opinion to reach this result.

First, I am concerned that a statement in the panel’s decision could be construed as endorsing a “reasonableness” standard for the evaluation of allegedly excessive attorney fees. Second, I am concerned about the conflation of the concept of “clearly excessive fees” and the separate and different concept of “unearned fees,” a concept that relates to…