Referral fee rules · Ohio
Referral fees in Ohio
Ohio Prof.Cond.R. 1.5(e) · Proportional work or joint responsibility
Ohio follows the proportional-or-joint-responsibility model with added safeguards. The division must be proportional to services performed, or each lawyer must assume joint responsibility and agree to be available for consultation with the client. The client must give written consent after full disclosure of the identity of each lawyer, the fact that fees will be divided, and the basis of the division. Unless court approval is obtained, the written closing statement in a contingent-fee case must be signed by the client and each lawyer, and the total fee must be reasonable; lawyer-to-lawyer disputes over the split go to bar association mediation or arbitration under Rule 1.5(f).
What Ohio requires
- • Division proportional to services OR each lawyer assumes joint responsibility and agrees to be available for consultation with the client
- • Client gives written consent after full disclosure of each lawyer's identity, the fact of the division, and its basis
- • Contingent-fee cases: written closing statement signed by client and each lawyer (unless court-approved division)
- • Total fee is reasonable
- • Disputes between lawyers resolved by bar association mediation/arbitration (Rule 1.5(f))
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
Need counsel in Ohio? Attorney Connect is a free, verified referral network where members place matters with attorneys in other states and track what happens next.
Find counsel in Ohio