Judgement amount

[legalese]

Connecticut I wanted to confirm something i heard, hope this is the correct section to ask this question.
Is the U.S. the only country where a lawyer who wins a lawsuit can collect one third of that judgement?
If not what other countries have this?


legalese

 

[racer72]

The percentage an attorney receives from a settlement is strictly a contractual issue, it doesn't matter what country this happens. It is something that can be negotiated and often is. The laws of other countries may be different. The last attorney I hired worked for only 20% of the possible settlement and a set retainer fee.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

From the world's most reliable source (wikipedia)

According to a 2004 book by law professor Herbert Kritzer, contingent fees were allowed as of that year in the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Dominican Republic, France, Greece, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. They are also allowed in personal injury actions in Lithuania. Recently, they have been allowed in Belgium as well.

 

[Paul84]

contingency fees aka champerty

From the world's most reliable source (wikipedia)

champerty n. an agreement between the party suing in a lawsuit (plaintiff) and another person, usually an attorney, who agrees to finance and carry the lawsuit in return for a percentage of the recovery (money won and paid.) In Common Law this was illegal on the theory that it encouraged lawsuits. Today it is legal and often part of a "contingent fee" agreement between lawyer and client. It is not the same as barratry which is active encouragement of lawsuits.

Barratry is most commonly applied to an attorney who attempts to bring about a lawsuit that will be profitable to her or him. Barratry is an offense both at Common Law and under some state statutes. The broader common-law crime has been limited by certain statutes. An attorney who is overly officious in instigating or encouraging prosecution of groundless litigation might be guilty of common barratry under a particular statute. The requirement for the crime of barratry is that repeated or persistent acts of litigation are performed by the accused. Barratry is generally a misdemeanor punishable by fine or imprisonment. In the case of an attorney, disbarment is the usual punishment. Since few cases have been prosecuted, barratry is considered by the legal community at large to be an archaic crime. This is particularly true today due to a highly litigious atmosphere.

 

[quincy]

champerty n. an agreement between the party suing in a lawsuit (plaintiff) and another person, usually an attorney, who agrees to finance and carry the lawsuit in return for a percentage of the recovery (money won and paid.) In Common Law this was illegal on the theory that it encouraged lawsuits. Today it is legal and often part of a "contingent fee" agreement between lawyer and client. It is not the same as barratry which is active encouragement of lawsuits.

Barratry is most commonly applied to an attorney who attempts to bring about a lawsuit that will be profitable to her or him. Barratry is an offense both at Common Law and under some state statutes. The broader common-law crime has been limited by certain statutes. An attorney who is overly officious in instigating or encouraging prosecution of groundless litigation might be guilty of common barratry under a particular statute. The requirement for the crime of barratry is that repeated or persistent acts of litigation are performed by the accused. Barratry is generally a misdemeanor punishable by fine or imprisonment. In the case of an attorney, disbarment is the usual punishment. Since few cases have been prosecuted, barratry is considered by the legal community at large to be an archaic crime. This is particularly true today due to a highly litigious atmosphere.

Would you please provide the source of the material you quoted, Paul84?

Taking copyrighted material and republishing it without permission from the author is called copyright infringement. The penalties for copyright infringement can be stiff.

 

[Paul84]

Would you please provide the source of the material you quoted, Paul84?

Taking copyrighted material and republishing it without permission from the author is called copyright infringement. The penalties for copyright infringement can be stiff.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Champerty

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/barratry

 

[quincy]

Thank you.

The information on Champerty is copyrighted 1981-2005 by Gerald N. Hill and Kathleen Hill. All rights reserved.

The information on Barratry is from West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2, copyrighted 2008 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.