What you pay, and who else might get a cut

Contingency

A typical personal-injury contract is about a third to 40% of the recovery, sometimes stepping up after a lawsuit or on appeal. That number is the client's total fee, not a second lawyer's cut. Confirm whether the percentage is before or after costs.

Costs (records, experts, filing, depositions) are usually advanced by the firm and repaid from the recovery. If the case loses, the contract should say who eats those costs.

Model Rule 1.5(e) is lawyer-to-lawyer

ABA Model Rule 1.5(e) lets two lawyers who are not in the same firm divide a fee only if (1) the split is proportional to work or each lawyer assumes joint responsibility, (2) the client agrees in writing to the share each lawyer will receive, and (3) the total fee is reasonable.

Joint responsibility means ethical and financial responsibility as if they were partners, not a finder’s fee in a trench coat.

A handful of states (notably California) still allow pure referral fees between lawyers with client consent. Most states follow the Model Rule. Always check the receiving lawyer’s state.

When another lawyer is added to the fee

If LawyerUnc refers you to the lawyer who will handle the file, and a fee is divided, you must agree in writing to that lawyer and to each lawyer's share before anyone splits a dollar. That is Florida Rule 4-1.5(g), New York Rule 1.5(g), and New Jersey RPC 1.5(e).

Joint responsibility means the referring lawyer stays ethically on the hook. It is not a finder's fee with extra paperwork. A silent extra percentage on your recovery, without that writing, is still a rule problem.

Florida's 25% cap on a referring lawyer's share

In a Florida personal-injury or wrongful-death file, a lawyer who refers the case 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 Florida Bar Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(D)(i). A silent one-third of the fee as a finder's cut is not the default.

If both lawyers assume joint legal responsibility, the client still has to agree in writing to each share. The 25% figure is a cap on a referring lawyer who is not working the file. It is not the client's total contingency percentage, which is a different number in the engagement.

New York and New Jersey do not copy that 25% cap. They still require a reasonable total fee and your written agreement to each lawyer's share (New York 1.5(g), New Jersey RPC 1.5(e)). California Rule 1.5.1 is the true referral-fee outlier. The state-by-state desk is If two lawyers are on your case.

What you should see in writing

The percentage, any step-ups, and whether it is gross or net.

How costs are defined and who pays them if you lose.

Whether another lawyer may be associated, and on what split.

That the total fee remains reasonable.