More on Unbundling

In the past, we’ve posted some articles on unbundling of legal services because it offers revenue possibilities to solo and small firm lawyers whose clients may not have the resources to fully fund legal services.  Here’s another article on unbundling, Law Firms Find Revenues in Unbundling, National Law Journal,  July 6, 2005, that reports on the current status of unbundling in various states:

In the past six years, nine states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Wyoming — have adopted unbundling rules.

New Hampshire and Utah are in the process of changing their rules. Iowa, Illinois and Ohio are not far behind, while Connecticut is in an earlier exploratory phase, the results of which are unpredictable.

The article also describes the benefits and drawbacks of unbundling:

Proponents
argue that unbundling provides a public service to clients who would
not otherwise have any legal representation. They say it is also a
potential stream of untapped revenue for law firms.  Critics counter
that clients are better served when represented throughout their
litigation.

In theory, the idea of unbundling appeals to me because it empowers
clients by forcing them to take more responsibility for their case.
Though I’ve never handled an unbundled matter, I have, in some cases,
given clients “assignments” for certain portions of their case in
exchange for working at a reduced rate.   And that’s the second benefit
of unbundling – it  enables clients to obtain legal representation at
lower rates.  The one problem, however, that I foresee with unbundling,
is the prospect of malpractice liability, where, for example, an
attorney is accused of failing to advise a client on a matter for which
the attorney had no responsibility under the unbundling arrangement.
Seems to me that for unbundling to work and not come back to haunt is
through clearly drafted retainer agreements that specifically discuss
the scope of the attorney’s representation.  Offering unbundled
services in my view, can make good business sense, but in many cases,
it’s also just a good deed – and we know what happens with good
deeds….