Florida fee division
If two lawyers who are not in the same firm split a fee, you have to agree in writing to each lawyer and to each share. Your total percentage is the number in the engagement with the lawyer who handles the case. A second lawyer's cut is a slice of that fee, not a second tax on the recovery.
Last checked Sep 4, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.
- The rule
- R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4-1.5(g), 4-1.5(f)(4)(D)(i)
- What you sign
- Rule 4-1.5(g): the total fee must be reasonable, and either the split matches the work or, by written agreement with the client, each lawyer assumes joint legal responsibility and agrees to be available for consultation, and the writing states the basis of the split.
- How the split is allowed
- Proportional to work, or joint responsibility plus availability for consultation, in a writing that states the basis of the division.
- Any cap on the referring share
- In a personal-injury, wrongful-death, or product-liability injury case, a lawyer who refers the matter and does not provide services or assume joint responsibility is generally limited to 25% of the total fee unless a court authorizes more. That is 4-1.5(f)(4)(D)(i). It is a cap on the referring lawyer's share of the fee, not a rewrite of the client's contingency percentage. A silent one-third of the fee as a finder's cut is not the default.
- Who is not in the fee
- A nonlawyer does not take a percentage of the recovery. Hosting, ads, and software get a flat or metered bill. That is ABA Model Rule 5.4 in substance, and every state on this desk follows it.
For the lawyer on the other end
4-1.5(g)(2)(A) is the Florida extra: joint responsibility includes agreeing to be available for consultation with the client. Do not treat joint responsibility as a signature line with no phone.
The 25% figure is not the client's 33% or 40%. Do not mix those numbers in a letter or a landing page.
If both lawyers assume joint responsibility, the 25% cap is not the governing limit. The writing still is.