Opinion ID: 2298289
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Release Agreement

Text: On February 25, Mrs. Ferguson visited Roland Walker, an attorney who worked in the same building as Mr. Butler, to explore hiring him as their new counsel. Mr. Walker called Mr. Butler and asked him to strike his appearance in the case. Mr. Walker also told Mr. Butler that Mrs. Ferguson would be coming to his office to obtain a release. In the meeting that followed, Mr. Butler told Mrs. Ferguson that he would not collect on any outstanding fees they owed him. He then drafted and printed a Settlement Agreement and Release (Agreement), which they both signed. Under that Agreement the Fergusons purported to waive all potential causes of action against Mr. Butler while Mr. Butler agreed to waive payment of an outstanding bill and to withdraw his appearance in any outstanding matters. The Agreement did not, however, advise the Fergusons that they could seek advice from independent counsel concerning the Agreement. Nor was there any separate written notice to that effect.