In this matter involving an attorney's fee in a matrimonial action, we find that although the respondent-attorney did not fully comply with the mandates of 22 N.Y.CRR §§ 1400.2 and 1400.3, which, respectively, require that counsel provide prospective clients with information as to their rights and responsibilities before entering into a retainer agreement and that specified provisions be included in retainer agreements, there was substantial compliance with those requirements and defendant-respondent waived her right to arbitration of the attorneys' fees dispute. This, along with the fact that counsel rendered substantial services and achieved reasonably favorable results, should entitle him to a reasonable fee. We also note that the record indicates that in a contempt proceeding before Justice Gangel-Jacobs and in an enforcement proceeding before Justice Heitler where respondent-attorney represented defendant-wife, those courts found, respectively, that the respondent-attorney was entitled to no fee, due to the frivolous nature of the motion, and to a sharply-reduced fee ($1,000). The record also indicates that respondent-attorney failed to keep sufficiently detailed records (see, Matter of Jackson, 120 A.D.2d 309, 315, lv denied 69 N.Y.2d 608) in that his billings consistently commingled various tasks within a given number of hours without setting forth the amount of time devoted to each task. Consequently, where respondent-attorney is seeking a total of $80,655.30 for the representation of defendant-wife for approximately one year, and was awarded $41,000 in interim fees, the latter which we find to have been reasonable under the circumstances, we would reduce his remaining claim of $39,655.30 by the amounts excluded by the motion courts, which, by our estimation based on review of respondent-attorney's billings and other record evidence, amount to 48 hours @ $250 per hour, or $12,000, for the contempt motion and 63 hours @ $250 per hour, or $15,750, for the enforcement motion. Thus, we find him entitled to a payment of $11,905.30, in addition to the interim awards, which comes to a total of $52,905.30 for his representation of defendant-wife.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.