attorney fees

Attorney Fees refer to the payment to attorneys for their legal services. Fees can take several forms including: 1) hourly charge , 2) a flat fee, 3) a contingent fee (must be reasonable), 4) statutory fees, 5) court approved fees, 6) a mixture of hourly and contingent fee or other combination.

If an attorney is paid on c ontingent fees, this essentially only allows them to collect their fee once the matter has been resolved in their clients favor. It is usually a percentage of the client’s recovery. This has long been deemed as unethical in multiple countries. However, it is currently tolerated in the United States.

If an attorney is paid in advance, they must refund any unearned part of the advance if they are fired or withdraw. [ABA Model Rule 1.16(d)]

According to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct the factors considered in determining the reasonableness of a fee are:

The time and labor required;
The difficulty of the issues in question;
The skill required to effectuate the legal services ;
The fee usually charged in the locality for similar legal work;
The time limitations;
The nature and length of the relationship between the lawyer and the client;
The experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer; and
An attorney must inform their client on the basis on which the client will be charged.
- The attorney’s bill must show exactly where the money is going and how the amounts have been calculated.
- The attorney must not overcharge the client for hours they have not spent working for their client.
- Similarly, an attorney must not charge a client for ordinary overhead expenses such as staffing, equipping, and running the attorney’s office. However, an attorney may charge their client for calls, research, overtime, photocopying etc. [ §38(3)(a) ]

In terms of fee splitting, the general rule is that an attorney must not split their fee with another attorney, unless they are partners or associates working in the same firm.