Court awarded Attorney Lange half of the 40% contingency fees realized from $280,000 settlement of an underlying personal injury action. Lange was an associate attorney at Attorney Romero's law firm who left the firm 3 years after Plaintiff retained the firm. One month later Lange filed a separate, additional appearance for Plaintiff. Lange voluntarily dismissed the Will County case, but then re-filed in Cook County. Lange was the only attorney with an appearance on record for Plaintiff for over 5 years, until Romero then filed his appearance. A written fee-sharing agreement signed by Plaintiff was not required under the circumstances. An agreement to pay fees to a former associate pursuant to a separation agreement need not comply with Rule 1.5(e), so long as such payment does not otherwise violate Illinois public policy. It is reasonable to conclude that Romero and Lange, in dividing work upon their separation, agreed they would split the fees on the underlying action evenly, so that an award of half of the fees to Lange was not an abuse of discretion. Such agreement does not violate public policy. (FITZGERALD SMITH and LAVIN, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Attorney's Fees