Shirley E. Hughes

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In re
SHIRLEY E. HUGHES,
Debtor.
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Case No. 05-00488
(Chapter 13)
DECISION RE APPLICATION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR
REIMBURSEMENT FOR COPYING FILE FILED BY BERNARD ENGLANDER
This addresses the Attorney's Motion for Reimbursement of
Cost for Copying File (Docket Entry No. 152) filed by Bernard
Englander. Although the case has been dismissed, the court has
jurisdiction even after dismissal to review the reasonableness of
an attorney's compensation for services rendered under 11 U.S.C.
§ 329(b). Because Englander is not authorized under District of
Columbia law to be reimbursed for the expense of making a copy of
his client's file upon surrendering the file to his client, the
requested reimbursement does not represent reasonable
compensation for services to be rendered, and the motion will be
denied.
Rule 1.16(d) of the D.C. Rules of Professional
Responsibility makes clear that the files pertaining to an
The decision below is hereby signed. Dated: October
20, 2006.
_____________________________
S. Martin Teel, Jr.
United States Bankruptcy Judge
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attorney's representation of a client are the property of the
client. D.C. Ethics Opinions 283 and 333 address an attorney's
obligation to ascertain a client's desires regarding disposition
of the files and to surrender them to the client if the client so
desires. Those opinions do not condition surrender on the
client's paying for the cost of an attorney's making a copy of
his client's property (the files) for the attorney's own
purposes. If an attorney decides to make a copy of a client's
file being surrendered to a client, the photocopying is not a
service to the client but instead an expense incurred by the
attorney to protect himself.
Perhaps an attorney and a client may agree at the outset
that the law firm may charge for making a copy of the client file
upon the client requesting a surrender of the file (instead of
charging a higher hourly fee to clients that reflect this cost of
doing business). Englander, however, does not contend that his
agreement regarding representing the debtor included any
agreement that the debtor would pay for Englander's making copies
of the file upon a surrender of the file being requested.
Finally, it is noted that if a client gives an attorney
specific instructions to review a file in order to produce only
selected documents, a reasonable fee may be charged for the file
review. D.C. Bar Opinion 283. The court's order will not
preclude Englander's charging such fees if he receives such
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specific instructions requiring a file review. The order instead
addresses only the request for reimbursement of the expense of
copying the file.
An order follows denying the motion.
[Signed and dated above.]
Copies to:
Debtor; Cynthia A. Niklas; Bernard Englander; Office of United
States Trustee.
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