Lawyer’s fees

The fee is the amount of money paid to a lawyer in return for the services provided, either legal or judicial.

In accordance with Article 10 alinea 1 in fine of the Law n°71-1130 of 31 December 1971, « Fees for consultation, assistance, advice, drafting private legal instruments, and presenting oral argument shall be set by agreement with the client ».

The alinea 2 of this article sets out that «Unless there is a lawyer-client agreement, fees shall be set according to standard practices, depending on the client’s financial situation, the difficulty of the case, the costs incurred by the lawyer, and the lawyer’s reputation and services performed.”

The Article 11.2 of the National Regulations of the lawyers’ profession adds other criteria, which implies that the remuneration of the lawyer is determined according to the following elements :

• time spent working on the file ;
• the research work ;
• the nature and the complexity of the case ;
• the importance of the involved interests ;
• the impact of the expenses and costs of the law firm ;
• the reputation, diplomas, seniority, experience and specialisation of the lawyer ;
• the advantages and result obtained for the client through his/her work ;
• the financial situation of the client.

Furthermore, the lawyer is entitled to require a success fee in addition to his/her standard fees, according to the result of the case or the services provided. In such a case, the fee agreement which sets out not only the payment of services effectively provided, but also the principle of a success fee according to the result of the case or the services provided, is legal.

In principle, the fees are calculated by application of an hourly rate to the number of hours spent working on the case (fee = hourly rate x hours spent).

Upon completion of his/her mandate, the lawyer sends a final detailed statement to the client reflecting the total amount of fees due in respect of the time spent, the disbursements and various expenses, the amount of reserves already paid and, if applicable, the remaining outstanding balance.

For cases in which the lawyer can anticipate the time to be spent, it is possible to set up a fixed fee. In such cases, the fees will be paid entirely before the end of the lawyer’s mandate (before final hearings for judicial cases).

The success fee is only due when it has been agreed in writing by the lawyer and his/her client through the signature of a fee agreement.

The Article 10 of the Law of 31 December 1971 sets out that « Any setting of fees based only on the outcome of the case shall be prohibited. An agreement that provides for compensation for the duties that are carried out, as well as an additional fee based on the result that is obtained or the service that was rendered, shall be lawful.” The success fee is an additional remuneration to fees based on time spent or a fixed fee.

It is due when the result is final. It is calculated on the gain, the saving or the advantage provided to the client as follows :

• The gain is the amount of the judicial sentence handed down by a Court against the other party or the total amount of money paid further to a transaction or any other alternative dispute resolution settlement.
• The saving is made in the reduction of the other party’s claim further to a judicial sentence, a discontinuance of the case, or further to a transaction or any other alternative dispute resolution settlement.
• The advantage is any benefit not assessable economically but which provides a real and personal satisfaction to the client ; such advantage must be predetermined.

In accordance with the Law n°92-4442 of 31 December 1992, fees are due and payable upon receipt. Any outstanding invoice unpaid within 30 days shall incur interest equal to one and half times the legal interest rate applicable on the day the invoice was issued.

Lawyers’ fees are subject to VAT, of which the current applicable rate is 20%.