Referral fee rules · Oregon
Referral fees in Oregon
Oregon RPC 1.5(d) · Pure referral fee permitted
Oregon is a permissive state: its fee-division provision sits at RPC 1.5(d) and imposes no proportionality or joint-responsibility requirement for divisions between lawyers. A division is allowed if the client gives informed consent to the fact that there will be a division of fees and the total fee for all legal services is not clearly excessive, so a pure referral fee is permitted. The consent need not be in writing, though documenting it is recommended. Proportionality is required only when the division is between a lawyer and a licensed paralegal (LP) under the 2026 amendments.
What Oregon requires
- • Client gives informed consent to the fact that fees will be divided
- • Total fee not clearly excessive
- • No proportionality or joint-responsibility requirement for lawyer-to-lawyer divisions
- • No writing required (written consent recommended as proof)
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.
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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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