| Division
of Fees: At times, the attorney that you hired will hire an attorney
in another firm to help with the case. You must agree to the hiring
of this other attorney. If that happens in a case involving personal
injury or property damage resulting from wrongful conduct, then this
agreement must be in writing and the attorney with primary responsibility
for your case is entitled to a minimum of 75 percent of the fee and
the attorney with secondary responsibility is entitled to a maximum
of 25 percent of the fee. If the attorneys of the different firms
participated equally in this type of case, they will have to go to
court to determine how the fee will be split. The splitting of fees
between the law firms should not affect the amount of money that you
receive. If another law firm is hired in a case in which you are charged
an hourly fee, the fee may be divided in one of the following two
ways: the fee can be divided based on the work done by each lawyer
or law firm or you can agree in writing as to h ow the fee will be
divided. Fees Set by a Judge: There are more than 200 Florida Statutes
which allow for an award of attorney's fees in certain legal actions.
In most instances, such a fee would be set by a judge. In all probate
matters, which includes guardianships, fees are either set by the
court or are subject to review and approval by the court either periodically
or at the time the matter is finalized. The amount of attorney's fees
set by a judge can vary greatly, depending upon various factors. The
guidelines for the judge setting such fees are provided by the attorney's
Code of Professional Conduct, Rule 4-1.5(b): 1. The time and labor required, the novelty, complexity, and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill required to perform the legal service properly; 2. The likelihood that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer; 3. The fee, or rate of fee, customarily charged in the locality for legal services of a comparable or similar nature; 4. The significance of, or amount involved in, the subject matter of the represetation, the responsibility involved in the representation, and the results obtained; 5. The time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances and, as between attorney and client, any additional or special time demands or requests of the attorney by the client; 6. The nature and length of the professional relationship with the client; 7. The experience, reputation, diligence, and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the service and the skill, expertise, or efficiency of effort reflected in the actual providing of such services; and 8. Whether the fee is fixed or contingent, and, if fixed as to amount or rate, then whether the client's ability to pay rested to any significant degree on the outcome of the representation. |
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