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State of Georgia Comments The Georgia ethics committee in various opinions has rendered guidance to attorneys that litigation funding is ethical where client confidences and attorney independent judgment are maintained. They also advise that interest charges can be passed to a client upon full disclosure and written consent. Excerpts from FORMAL ADVISORY OPINION NO. 05-5 Approved And Issued On February 13, 2007 Pursuant To Bar Rule 4-403 By Order Of The Supreme Court Of Georgia Thereby Replaci

State of Illinois Illinois State Bar AssociationCHARGING INTEREST ON ADVANCED EXPENSES TO CLIENT ISBA Advisory Opinion on Professional ConductOpinion No. 94-06 July, 1994 ISBA Advisory Opinions on Professional Conduct are prepared as an educational service to members of the ISBA. While the Opinions express the ISBA interpretation of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct and other relevant materials in response to a specific hypothesized fact situation, they do not have the weight of law an

State of Hawaii Comments An arrangement whereby an attorney refers a client to a bank or other lending institution to obtain a loan for legal fees and costs is generally regarded as consistent with the attorney’s duty to make legal services available, thus preserving the integrity and independence of the legal profession. In making such a referral, an attorney need not determine that the credit arrangements are fair to the client or otherwise become involved in such arrangements. An attorney m

State of Florida Comments For purposes of this inquiry, the Committee assumes that the professional services have been completed and the fee fixed and agreed upon. The assignment of a receivable representing a fee for professional services immediately raises concern about the confidential relationship between lawyer and client, including such confidential matters as the client’s need for legal services and amount of the fee owed for such services. Such assignment also poses ethical problems sho

State of Connecticut Informal Opinion 99-42September 17, 1999Connecticut Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics. Advance Of Funds To Client By Third Party: The requester has asked for the opinion of this committee concerning whether it would be unethical for his office to participate in or to encourage his clients to participate in a program in which a Florida corporation has offered to advance money to personal injury claimants secured by the claimant’s potential recovery in the pers

State of Colorado Comments It is the opinion of the Colorado Bar Association Ethics Committee that the Code of Professional Responsibility prohibits the unilateral charging of interest by an attorney on a delinquent account for legal services, unless there has been a prior agreement between the attorney and the client which specifically states both the amount of interest and the time periods under which interest would be imposed. This opinion is a logical extension of Formal Opinion 338 of the

State of California Comments The Committee interprets the inquiry to ask not about the ethicality of charging interest on costs advanced when they have already been billed to the client and become past due, but, rather, about the ethicality of charging interest from the time they are paid by the lawyer until the time they are billed. As to the former query, the Committee has previously stated that it is not improper for a lawyer, with the prior agreement of the client, to impose a reasonable in

Choosing the right lender and loan terms can be one of the biggest accelerators of growth for a firm. Conversely, choosing the wrong lender or failing to thoroughly investigate loan terms can set a law firm back severely and cost a fortune.  Before borrowing, every attorney should consider these points: “Sleeper” Fees Credit Ceiling Company Ownership Clients Defense Firm Affiliations Trial Organization Endorsements Use of Proceeds Restrictions

Owner of employment law and False Claims Act practice speaks on the importance of business acumen in running a law firm. Our Deputy General Counsel, Kelly Anthony, Esq., recently sat down with Adam for a one-on-one interview on what helped his firm grow, what inspired him to start his own legal practice, financing their firm with Counsel Financial and advice on starting your own practice. This is the first installment of our new monthly series. Read what he had to say...

Taxotere is an intravenous chemotherapy drug developed and manufactured by Sanofi.[1] The FDA approved the drug in 1996 for the treatment of breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, advanced stomach cancer, head and neck cancer and prostate cancer.[2]

Viagra (sildenafil citrate) was introduced by Pfizer in 1998, and it has become one of the most widely recognized brand-name medications on the market in the United States—used by millions of men to treat impotence and sexual erectile dysfunction (“ED”).

gazprom.com PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”), an international accounting firm, and The Citco Group Ltd. (“Citco”), a financial services group, are back at the center of a class action led by investors in several feeder funds that invested in the historic Ponzi scheme architected by Bernie Madoff. The action pleads federal securities law and state law violations arising out of PwC’s role as auditor of the funds and Citco’s part as the funds’ administrator and custodian.  On March 3, 2015, a ju

A jury in Bakersfield, California, has returned a $5.7 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Ethicon Inc., after finding that Ethicon’s TVT Abbrevo transvaginal mesh device was defectively designed and that Ethicon failed to warn doctors of the risks associated with the product. The lead plaintiff in the case, Coleen Perry, a retired caterer, was implanted with the TVT Abbrevo system in 2011 to treat stress urinary incontinence. Within one year of implantation, Mrs.

Plaintiffs around the country have filed claims for injuries sustained after taking the anti-nausea medication, Zofran, originally manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, LLC (“GSK”).[1] Plaintiffs in the Zofran litigation claim that prenatal exposure to the drug caused their children to be born with severe birth defects and that the defendant drug manufacturers (1) “unlawfully promoted Zofran for ‘off-label’ use during pregnancy; (2) hid evidence that Zofran can increase the risk for congenital defects; and (3) failed to warn the public of Zofran’s alleged risks.”[2]

Syngenta is a multibillion-dollar global agribusiness enterprise that develops and produces genetically modified corn seed. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that a corn line developed by Syngenta, known as Agrisure Viptera (designated as transformation event MIR162—a seed designed to be insect-resistant), was no longer considered “regulated” under the regulations governing the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms (the GMO Regulations and the Plant Protection Act).

In February 2014, the first case involving AndroGel, a testosterone replacement therapy, was filed against AbbVie Inc., Abbott Laboratories and Eli Lilly and Company (“Defendants”) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. One month later, Hon. Matthew F. Kennelly ordered that over 30 lawsuits be consolidated in the same court for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.

Propecia is a well-known oral prescription medication used for the treatment of hair loss in men, also known as androgenetic alopecia. Androgenetic alopecia is a genetic disorder that effects 70% of men at some point in their lifetime and approximately 35 million men in the United States. The active ingredient in Propecia is finasteride, a synthetic four-azasteriod compound. Finasteride lowers the level of androgens in men, such as testosterone. Essentially, finasteride prevents the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotesterone in the body, which has been implicated in the balding process.

Risperdal is the brand name for risperidone, an atypical or “second generation” antipsychotic drug prescribed to treat schizophrenia and other manifestations of psychotic disorders. Defendants named in the consolidated litigation are the designers, developers, manufacturers, marketers, advertisers, distributors and/or sellers of the drug, including Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceutica (“Janssen,” and together, “Defendants”).

Fresenius’ website, “GranuFlo is the most-widely prescribed dry acid product in the dialysis industry today.”

The ASR hip implants are metal-on-metal devices made of chromium and cobalt. The devices include a cup that is implanted into the hip with a ball joint that connects to the leg. The ASR metal-on-metal implants reconstruct human hip joints that were diseased due to conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, avascular necrosis or fracture. Once implanted, the devices are supposed to last for an average of 15 years. 

Over 1,200 lawsuits involving claims that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer have been filed – mostly in St. Louis and New Jersey. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits involving cosmetic talc-based products allege that long-term use can cause the development of ovarian cancer. Defendants named in the litigation are: the manufacturer of the products, Johnson & Johnson; its parent company, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies; the company that mines the talc for the manufacturer, Imerys Talc America f/k/a Luzenac America; and the trade associate responsible for representing industry interest and lobbying on against regulation of talc.