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The Referral Fee And The Aba Rules Of Model Conduct: Should States Adopt Model Rule 1.5(E)?, Sheryl Zeligson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Note examines the history behind DR 2-107 and the reasons for the ABA's adoption of Model Rule 1.5(e). It then analyzes DR 2-107 in depth to determine whether it has been effective in terms of advancing the policies and purposes it was designed to promote. The Note concludes that DR 2-107 is deficient for the following reasons: (1) members of the legal profession oppose and flagrantly violate the rule; (2) except in a few jurisdictions, violators of the rule are rarely prosecuted while even in those jurisdictions that do enforce the rule, the courts are vague in their interpretation …