Referral fee rules · Utah
Referral fees in Utah
Utah Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5; former Rule 1.5(e) repealed 2020 · Distinctive rule — read carefully
Utah repealed its Model Rule 1.5(e) analog in the 2020 regulatory reform, so there is no longer a rule restricting division of fees between lawyers in different firms, and no proportionality, joint-responsibility, or client-consent-to-the-split requirement specific to fee division. General duties still apply: the total fee must be reasonable under Rule 1.5(a) and the fee basis must be communicated to the client under Rule 1.5(b). A proposed new Rule 5.8 on lawyer fee sharing and referral fees was published for comment in 2025 but the current Rule 1.5 contains no fee-division paragraph.
What Utah requires
- • No specific fee-division rule; former 1.5(e) repealed in 2020
- • Total fee must be reasonable (Rule 1.5(a))
- • Fee basis must be communicated to the client (Rule 1.5(b))
- • Watch pending proposed Rule 5.8 on fee sharing and referral fees
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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Jurisdictions with a similar rule
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