Lighthouse Law Group 2020 Contract violates the Rules of Professional Conduct.


The previous Edmonds City Council conducted an evaluation of the services of the Lighthouse Law Group, PLLC. At the last minute prior to the evaluation process being fully completed the two City Council members brought forth a contract renewal.

 Lighthouse contract clause 13 Rules of Professional Conduct, states; All services provided by LIGHTHOUSE under this Agreement will be performed in accordance with the Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys established by the Washington Supreme Court.

Lighthouse contract clause 3(b.) establishes back billing for services already paid for and completed. 3b. states;  If any of the Option Triggering Events described in Section 3.c, below, occur, LIGHTHOUSE shall have the option to convert the flat fee compensation arrangement described in Section 3.a, above, to an hourly compensation arrangement. If exercised by LIGHTHOUSE, this option will have the effect of applying the hourly rates described in Section 3.d, below to all of the work performed by LIGHTHOUSE, including work that was performed prior to the Option Triggering Event, subject to the retroactive billing cap described in Section 3.e, below. Under no circumstances may LIGHTHOUSE apply hourly billing to work performed prior to January 1, 2020. LIGHTHOUSE shall have the ability to exercise this option, if triggered, at any time after the Option Triggering Event occurs by sending written notice to the City of its decision to exercise the option. If the option is exercised, LIGHTHOUSE shall send the City invoices that reflect the additional hourly charges owing after crediting the flat fee payments previously made by the City. c. Any of the following shall constitute Option Triggering Events for the purposes of triggering the option in Section 3.b, above: Term of Agreement clause 7; This Agreement shall commence on January 1, 2020 and shall remain in effect until December 31, 2022. This is an agreement for legal services and the City as client may terminate the agreement for any reason upon sixty (60) days notice following a vote of the City Council to terminate the Agreement. LIGHTHOUSE may terminate only as provided in Section 3. In the event of termination, work in progress will be completed by LIGHTHOUSE if authorized by the City under terms acceptable to both parties. If completion of work in progress is not authorized or acceptable terms cannot be worked out, LIGHTHOUSE will submit all unfinished documents, reports, or other material to City and LIGHTHOUSE will be entitled to receive payment for any and all satisfactory work completed prior to the effective date of termination.

The Flat Fee and Termination clauses fail to comport with the Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5(f)(2) Fees. The terms and conditions are different than the suggested language as found in RPC.

Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5 (f) (2) Fees“A lawyer may charge a flat fee for specified legal services, which constitutes complete payment for those services and is paid in whole or in part in advance of the lawyer providing the services. If agreed to in advance in a writing signed by the client, a flat fee is the lawyer’s property on receipt, in which case the fee shall not be deposited into a trust account under Rule 1.15A. The written fee agreement shall, in a manner that can easily be understood by the client, include the following: (i) the scope of the services to be provided; (ii) the total amount of the fee and the terms of payment; (iii) that the fee is the lawyer’s property immediately on receipt and will not be placed into a trust account; (iv) that the fee agreement does not alter the client’s right to terminate the client-lawyer relationship; and (v) that the client may be entitled to a refund of a portion of the fee if the agreed-upon legal services have not been completed. A statement in substantially the following form satisfies this requirement: 

 [Lawyer/law firm] agrees to provide, for a flat fee of $__________, the following services:  _____________________________________. The flat fee shall be paid as follows: _____________________________. Upon [lawyer’s/law firm’s] receipt of all or any portion of the flat fee, the funds are the property of [lawyer/law firm] and will not be placed in a trust account. The fact that you have paid your fee in advance does not affect your right to terminate the client-lawyer relationship. In the event our relationship is terminated before the agreed-upon”

 If Sharon Cates has signed the contract, may I suggest, sooner than later, the city council contact the Washington State Bar Association for a determination of the validity of the following terms and conditions in the Lighthouse Law Group contract; 
  • the back billing of hourly wages
  • the continue service requirement of existing unfinished work and
  • If the city would be entitled to any refund for unfinished legal work.

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