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Are Verbal Fee Splits Among California Law Firms Okay?

7/18/19

By: Greg Fayard

The answer to this question is now “no.” When different law firms split a legal fee–say a contingency fee–verbal “gentlemen’s agreements” are not permitted under California’s new ethics rules. The old ethics rules allowed different law offices to verbally agree to a referral fee wherein the referring lawyer would get, say, 5% of any total recovery by another, unaffiliated lawyer. New Rule 1.5.1, now requires that the unaffiliated lawyers splitting or dividing such a fee have their own agreement in writing. Further, the client has to consent in writing to that fee split. The written disclosure to the client must disclose the terms of the fee split and the identity of the lawyers who are splitting the fee. As long as the total fee charged by all lawyers is not increased due to the agreed split, fee sharing among different law offices is permissible under California’s ethical rules.
The agreement among unaffiliated law offices need not be signed, however. An informal e-mail setting forth the terms of the fee split could suffice.
The lesson here is casual, oral arrangements among California law firms to split legal fees are no longer permitted under the ethical rules.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Greg Fayard at gfayard@fmglaw.com, or any other member of our Lawyers Professional Liability Practice Group, a list of which can be found at www.fmglaw.com.