Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California
Law Corporation not Registered with Bar Assoc.
I was working with a lawyer who signed a settlement agreement and lawsuit dismissals. He took all of these actions in the name of his law corporation (and without my consent). Now I find that 1) the corporation was and is suspended by the CA Sec of State and the his law corporation was never registered with the Bar. Are the settlement agreement and the lawsuit dismissals void or voidable?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Law Corporation not Registered with Bar Assoc.
As a matter of practice, I never sign a settlement agreement on my client's behalf.
A typical retainer agreement might give the attorney a power of attorney to sign all settlement documents, however. You should review your retainer agreement.
The attorney should have communicated the settlement offer to you and obtained your consent before signing the agreement, unless the agreement provides that if the attorney is unable to locate you after making reasonable effort, the attorney may do what the attorney thinks is best.
Feel free to provide me directly with more information about your retainer and the settlement, for my review.
Typically, law corporations are not registered with the State Bar -- only the attorneys are.
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