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MARYLAND STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, INC.
COMMITTEE ON ETHICS
ETHICS DOCKET NO. 1989-31
Attorneys Fees; division of fees between non-partner attorneys
Your letter poses the following facts:
Client X was referred by Attorney Y to Attorney A in a professional malpractice action. Previously, Attorney Y and Attorney A had divided fees when Attorney Y referred cases to Attorney A. Attorney Y's portion of the fee received in previous cases was one-third of the attorneys' fees due pursuant to the contingent fee agreement entered into with Attorney A and Client X.
During the course of the representation of Client X, Attorneys A and Y consulted concerning various aspects of the case. A settlement was ultimately reached on behalf of Client X and Attorney Y was informed of the settlement. Attorney I has requested one-third of the fees received by Attorney A as a result of the settlement and the Client x, informed of the request, has raised no objection. You request an opinion as to the ethical propriety of such division of fees. You also note that ""[t]he facts and circumstances of the case involving Client X arose prior to the most recent changes to the rules of professional conduct in the State of Maryland.""
Although the Committee is not certain to what ""most recent changes to the rules of professional conduct"" you are referring, we assume that you refer to the adoption of the Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct effective January 1, 1987. If so, the answer to your query is found in EC 2-22 and DR 2-l07A of the Code of Professional Responsibility, as adopted as Appendix F of the Maryland Rules of Procedure, which stated that
A fee may properly be divided between lawyers properly associated if the division is in proportion to the services performed and the responsibility assumed by each lawyer and if the fee is reasonable.
Pursuant to former DR 2-107A
A lawyer shall not divide a fee for legal services with another lawyer who is not a partner in or an associate of his law firm or law office unless:
(2) the division is made in proportion to the services performed and the responsibility assumed by each.
As noted in Ethics Docket 73-30,
As a rule of thumb, in the absence of specific [sic] agreement determining the division, the Maryland and American Bars have generally recognized as one-third of the fee to be an appropriate fee for the services of the forwarding attorney.
A similar result would yield from the application of the present Rules of Professional Conduct. See Rule 1.5(e).
If it is your determination that Attorney I has requested a fee in proportion to the services performed and the responsibility assumed by him or her, the division of fees appears to be permissible.
This opinion, 89-31 makes references to opinion 73-30.
References: EC 2-22. DR 2-107A;Maryland Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8
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