Before you sign a fee agreement

Take it home

You are allowed to take the agreement away, read it, and show it to someone you trust. You do not have to sign it in the office. A firm that insists on an answer in the room is telling you something. Compare it with what California and Washington require it to say.

The eight things to find

1. What the lawyer will do. The claim, the case, and what is and is not included. If you may need a second case, such as an appeal, ask whether it is covered.
2. The percentage. One number, or more than one. Washington’s rule says the agreement states the percentages for settlement, trial or appeal, so look for each.
3. The costs. What kinds, who fronts them, and when they are repaid.
4. The order. Whether costs come out before or after the fee is figured.
5. What you owe if there is no recovery. The fee and the costs separately.
6. Other claims on the money. Hospitals, insurers and anyone else who may be paid first or after.
7. If you leave, or the lawyer leaves or refers the case. What you owe, to whom, and what happens to the file.
8. Your copy. A California agreement of this kind is to be given to you signed by both at signing. Ask for yours before you leave, in any state.

In California, it is negotiable

California Business and Professions Code section 6147 says a California agreement for a percentage fee must state that the fee is not set by law and is negotiable, unless section 6146 applies. If you want to try to change the percentage or another term, ask before you sign. The worst answer you can get is no. For the Washington side, Washington Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5 (Fees), paragraph (c) sets out what an agreement states.

If a fee dispute comes up

The State Bar of California offers fee arbitration. When we read its page it said arbitration is a hearing outside court, usually faster and less expensive than court, that you can do it without another lawyer, and that in most cases the lawyer must agree if the client asks. Read State Bar of California: Resolving fee disputes with your attorney for the details before you rely on any of this.

We have not read a matching Washington program, so this page does not describe one. If you are in Washington, ask the Washington State Bar Association what it offers.