Co-Counsel and Fees
How fees are divided, what Rule 1.04 requires, and what you can expect from us procedurally.
Texas permits lawyers who are not in the same firm to divide a fee only where the division is either in proportion to the professional services each performs, or made with each lawyer assuming joint responsibility for the representation.
The client must consent in writing, and that consent must be obtained before the association or referral rather than afterward. The client must be advised of the identity of every lawyer and firm who will share in the fee, the method by which the fee will be divided, and the share each lawyer will receive or the basis on which it will be determined.
The total fee must also be reasonable and not unconscionable under Rule 1.04(a). We handle the consent documentation and provide you with a copy, but the obligation is shared and we would rather over-document it than have a fee dispute later.
Where you refer a case and stay out of the work, the arrangement is generally structured on joint responsibility. Where you remain actively involved — taking depositions, handling a portion of discovery, participating in mediation — proportional division usually reflects the reality better.
We will discuss which fits before anything is signed, and we will say so if we think the structure you have proposed does not match what is actually going to happen.
Referral and co-counsel fees are disbursed at the same time as the client’s settlement funds, from the same disbursement, with a written accounting.
You will receive a copy of the settlement statement showing the total recovery, the fee, the expenses, and the division. We do not net expenses in ways that are not on the statement, and we do not deduct anything that was not disclosed at the outset.
Unless we agree otherwise in writing, Cukjati Law Firm advances case expenses and recovers them from the settlement before the fee division. If a case does not recover, we absorb the expenses.
Where a referring firm wants to share expense risk in exchange for a larger share, that is negotiable and gets written down.
You will hear from us at filing, at any dispositive motion, before mediation, on any offer of consequence, and at resolution. If you want more than that, say so and we will do it.
You will not have to chase us for a status. If you do, that is a failure on our part and worth telling us about.
Division proportional to services performed or on assumption of joint responsibility; the client’s written consent obtained before the referral; and disclosure of every firm sharing the fee, the method of division, and the share or its basis.
We prepare the documentation and provide you a copy, though the obligation under Rule 1.04 is shared.
At disbursement, from the same settlement funds, with a written accounting showing the recovery, fee, expenses and division.
We advance them and recover from the settlement before the fee division. If the case does not recover, we absorb them.
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