Fee Dispute - Palm Springs, California. August, 2002
Confidential Settlement: $400,000 reduction on $550,000 claimed balance

This legal fee dispute involved a well known Palm Springs divorce attorney. The attorney had received a substantial referral fee, on a case she referred to a different lawyer which involved her client whom she was representing in the divorce action. There was no charge of legal malpractice involved, and the amount of the fees were really not in dispute. The critical issue was one of the attorney’s breach of her ethical duty and the question was whether the referral fee had been fully and properly disclosed. The interesting issue in the case was whether an allegedly undisclosed, and therefore allegedly improper referral fee could be used as an offset against attorneys fees owed by the client.