Can a lawyer demand money from a legal aid recipient?
Verified 26 October 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Yes, your lawyer may claim fees from you outside of the contribution paid to him or her under total or partial legal aid.
The applicable rules vary depending on whether the fees charged correspond to an activity carried out by the lawyer before your application for legal aid or after the aid has been granted to you.
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Actions of the lawyer before your application for legal aid
The lawyer has the right to claim from you the costs incurred by him in defending you before your application for legal aid is lodged or before the aid is granted to you.
Actions of the lawyer after your legal aid has been granted
The lawyer's right to receive fees in addition to the legal aid contribution varies depending on whether you have obtained partial legal aid or total legal aid.
Partial aid
Supplementary fees
When you get thepartial legal aid, the lawyer has the right to ask you for fees complementareas in addition to the legal aid contribution.
These additional fees are freely negotiated between you and the lawyer and they must be subject to written agreement prior to the intervention of the lawyer.
The Convention should set the amount and terms of payment additional fees, taking into account the following:
- Complexity of the case
- Due diligence and costs imposed by the nature of the case
- Your resources and heritage
The agreement must recall the amount of the State's contribution and indicate the means of appeal which you can exercise in case of dispute.
The lawyer must communicate the agreement within 15 days of its signature to the president of the bar association to which he belongs, so that the president controls his regularity and the upright additional fees.
Fees in case of withdrawal of legal aid
But if justice grants you important damages and that the legal aid office withdraw the aid granted, the lawyer can ask fees.
These fees are charged because of your increased revenues.
They are used to pay for services performed by counsel and do not constitute profit and loss fee.
The lawyer can charge you a fee if all of the following 4 conditions are met:
- The court ruling in your case has become definitive (no appeal has been lodged and the time limit for appeal has expired)
- The court decision granted you important damages
- These damages make you exceed revenue limits taken into account for the granting of legal aid
- The legal aid office already has you withdrawn the aid tuned
The lawyer can tell you propose to sign a prior agreement which fixes the amount and terms of payment fees that he can claim if legal aid is withdrawn from you.
If you have signed such an agreement, the lawyer can claim the fees from the moment legal aid is withdrawn.
If you have not signed this type of agreement, the lawyer must apply to the judge after the legal aid has been withdrawn to ask him to fix the amount of his fees.
In the event of a fee dispute, you can refer the matter to the ombudsman for consumer affairs or the president of the bar on which the lawyer depends.
Total aid
When you get help total jurisdiction, the lawyer is not entitled to to claim other remuneration in addition of the contribution to be paid to it by the State.
But if justice grants you important damages and that the legal aid office withdraw the aid granted, the lawyer can ask fees.
These fees are charged because of your increased revenues.
They are used to pay for services performed by counsel and do not constitute profit and loss fee.
The lawyer can charge you a fee if all of the following 4 conditions are met:
- The court ruling in your case has become definitive (no appeal has been lodged and the time limit for appeal has expired)
- The court decision granted you important damages
- These damages make you exceed revenue limits taken into account for the granting of legal aid
- The legal aid office already has you withdrawn the aid tuned
The lawyer can tell you propose to sign a prior agreement which fixes the amount and terms of payment fees that he can claim if legal aid is withdrawn from you.
If you have signed such an agreement, the lawyer can claim the fees from the moment legal aid is withdrawn.
If you have not signed this type of agreement, the lawyer must apply to the judge after the legal aid has been withdrawn to ask him to fix the amount of his fees.
In the event of a fee dispute, you can refer the matter to the ombudsman for consumer affairs or the president of the bar on which the lawyer depends.
Who can help me?
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Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.
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