April 3, 2018
I am somewhat concerned that my trial atty in ny is somewhat getting shortchanged in my case He is a big hearted affable man and unfortunatly I was not able to locate him on my own--I am sure I could gift something if at the end of case I felt he was short changed could you tell me if the legal way for a contingencey is to split a 1/3 recovery among them
It is preferable to resolve these disputes amicably, but assuming there are proceeds from the action from which a contingent fee can be paid, the attorney of record has a retaining lien pursuant to Judiciary Law §475. If another attorney claims a fee on the same case, and it can't be resolved between counsel, they can make an application to the trial judge - at the close of the case - for a quantum meruit determination of what they are entitled to, based upon the value of the work they did, if any. In the unusual situation where there is more than one attorney claiming a 'referral' fee, and they cannot resolve their dispute, the court will have to resolve it for them.
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