Referral fee rules · Maine
Referral fees in Maine
Maine Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(e) · Pure referral fee permitted
Maine rejects the Model Rule's proportionality and joint-responsibility conditions. A lawyer may divide a fee with a lawyer outside the firm if, after full disclosure, the client consents to the employment of the other lawyer and to the terms of the fee division, confirmed in writing, and the total fee does not exceed reasonable compensation for all legal services rendered. Because neither proportional work nor joint responsibility is required, a referral-only fee is permitted with informed written client consent.
What Maine requires
- • Full disclosure to the client
- • Client consents to the other lawyer's employment and to the fee-division terms
- • Consent confirmed in writing
- • Total fee does not exceed reasonable compensation for all services rendered
Source: read the rule text
Educational summary, not legal advice. Rules change and several turn on the facts of the matter. Confirm against the current rule text and your own jurisdiction's version before agreeing to divide a fee. Remember that both the referring and receiving lawyer's rules can apply.
Members can draft this in a minute
The member tool takes both lawyers' jurisdictions, checks the division against each rule, flags anything that would not hold up, and drafts the agreement and the client consent. Membership is free.
Jurisdictions with a similar rule
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