May Connecticut lawyers divide fees from an hourly family-law or other noncontingent matter?
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This page answers the general question as of 2014. Ask about yours and see what the current Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
The inquiry covered divorce, custody, support, separation agreements, prenuptial agreements, and other hourly matters not involving a court appointment. The Committee finds no rule or statute barring a referral fee calculated from fees billed in a noncontingent matter.
Rule 1.5(e) requires written advice to the client about the compensation-sharing agreement and every lawyer's participation, no client objection, and a reasonable total fee. Rule 1.5(d) separately means the referral fee cannot depend on the outcome of the family matter.
The Committee declines to set an appropriate percentage. The lawyers may negotiate the division because the size of the referral share is not itself an ethics issue while the total fee remains reasonable. The cited prior opinion treats the referral itself as a limited lawyer-client relationship for every lawyer receiving a fee.
In practice
Under this opinion, Connecticut's fee-division rule applies to hourly matters as well as contingent cases. The ethical focus remains the client's written information and nonobjection, each lawyer's participation as disclosed, the total fee, and the absence of an outcome contingency.
Common questions
Q: Are referral fees limited to contingent-fee cases?
A: No. The opinion permits them in hourly family-law and other noncontingent matters.
Q: May the referral fee depend on the case outcome?
A: No. Rule 1.5(d) prohibits that feature in the matters addressed.
Q: Must the client approve in writing?
A: The client must be advised in writing of the sharing arrangement and each lawyer's participation and must not object.
Q: What percentage may the referring lawyer receive?
A: The Committee does not prescribe one. The lawyers may negotiate the division so long as the total fee is reasonable.
Background and rules framework
Rule 1.5(e) governs fee divisions between lawyers in different firms, while Rule 1.5(d) restricts contingent fees in specified matters and prevents the referral share described here from depending on the result.
Citations and references
Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Rules 1.5(d) and 1.5(e)
Other opinions cited:
- Connecticut Informal Opinion 2013-04, referral fee and limited lawyer-client relationship
See also
- CT Informal Op. 20-02: Out-of-state referral fees
- CT Informal Op. 16-03: Estate-administrator referral fee
- CT Informal Op. 16-04: Conserved-person referral fee
Source
- Landing page: Connecticut Bar Association Informal Ethics Opinions
- Original PDF: Informal Opinion 14-03
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