Referral fee rules · Wyoming
Referral fees in Wyoming
Wyo. Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(e) (as amended eff. Sept. 1, 2019) · Proportional work or joint responsibility
Wyoming now follows the ABA Model Rule's disjunctive test: the division must be in proportion to the services performed by each lawyer or each lawyer must assume joint responsibility for the representation. The published pre-2019 rule read 'and,' but the Wyoming Supreme Court's order effective September 1, 2019 changed it to 'or,' correcting a typo so the text agrees with Comment [7]. The client must be informed of the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive, with the agreement confirmed in writing, and the total fee must be reasonable. Some secondary guides still incorrectly describe Wyoming as requiring both conditions.
What Wyoming requires
- • Division proportional to services OR each lawyer assumes joint responsibility (disjunctive since Sept. 1, 2019)
- • Client informed of the arrangement, including each lawyer's share
- • Agreement confirmed in writing
- • Total fee is reasonable
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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