Fee Agreements — Written Requirement

Fee agreements between attorneys and clients must be in writing if they are contingency-fee agreements or non-contingency agreements exceeding $1,000. Both the attorney and the client must sign the agreement, and it must include specific disclosures required by law; otherwise, the client can choose to void the agreement.

An attorney and a client agree on a contingency fee for a personal injury case, but they do not put the agreement in writing. Later, the client decides they are unhappy with the arrangement and wants to void the agreement. The client can successfully void the agreement because it was not in writing as required by law.

No writing, no binding; keep your fees signed and aligned.

Exams may present scenarios where a fee agreement is verbal or lacks required disclosures, leading students to mistakenly believe the agreement is enforceable. Watch for details about the fee structure and whether it exceeds the $1,000 threshold.

Questions often test whether a fee agreement meets the writing requirement and may include fact patterns where the absence of a written agreement leads to disputes over enforceability.