Wyo. Contingent Fee R. 5

(a) It is recognized that contingent fees vary in amount depending upon those factors

which are described in paragraph (f) of this rule and that a common contingent fee in

casualty and wrongful death cases is thirty-three and one-third (331⁄3) percent of

amounts recovered prior to appeal and forty-five - fifty (45 - 50) percent of amounts

recovered on appeal.

Contingent fees which do not exceed the following schedule will be presumed to

be reasonable and not excessive where the total recovery does not exceed one

million dollars ($1,000,000):

(1) thirty-three and one-third (331⁄3) percent of the recovery if the claim is settled

prior to or within sixty (60) days after suit is filed;

(2) forty (40) percent of the recovery if the claim is settled more than sixty (60)

days after filing suit or if a judgment is entered upon a verdict.

(b) For those amounts of a recovery in excess of one million dollars ($1,000,000) a

contingent fee of thirty (30) percent of such excess sum over one million dollars

($1,000,000) shall be presumed reasonable and not excessive.

(c) The provisions of this rule are not intended to abridge the freedom of the

attorneys and clients to contract for different percentages.

(d) Each attorney or law firm sharing in a fee shall be legally liable to the claimant

for any professional malpractice of any other attorney or law firm sharing in the fee to

the same extent as if they were partners. No attorney shall share in any fee unless the

attorney shall be available to the claimant for consultation concerning the matter. No

attorney or any other person shall receive any fee merely for referring a claimant to

another attorney for representation. The terms for sharing of any fee shall be disclosed

to the client in a written document.

(e) A copy of these rules relating to contingent fees shall be furnished and fully

explained to the client at the time of entering into any contingent fee contract.

(f) A party to a contingent fee agreement may, by written application, have a review

of the reasonableness of the fee fixed therein by the Committee on Resolution of Fee

Disputes of the Wyoming State Bar. Such written application must be filed with the

committee prior to the expiration of sixty (60) days after the date of the final

distribution of the money proceeds. The burden of proof in proceedings pursuant to this

rule shall be upon the moving party.

The committee shall hold a hearing on each application filed with it, and shall

record its proceedings, either by stenographic means or by electronic recording. The

record of the committee hearing shall be certified by the committee chairman and

promptly transmitted to the court reviewing the matter.

In its determination of the reasonableness of the fee, upon review, the committee

may consider as applicable the following criteria:

(1) the amount of costs incurred or advanced by the attorney in representing the

client;

(2) the time and labor required;

(3) the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved;

(4) the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly;

(5) the likelihood, if apparent to the client, that the acceptance of the particular

employment will preclude other employment by the attorney;

(6) the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services;

(7) the amount involved in the controversy and the benefits resulting to the

client;

(8) the time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances;

(9) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client;

(10) the experience, reputation, and ability of the attorney or attorneys performing the services; and

(11) the contingency or the certainty of the compensation.

In every proceeding under this rule for determination of reasonableness of a

contingent fee, it shall be the obligation of all parties to make a full disclosure

to, and file with, the committee originals or copies of all records, files,

correspondence, or other documentary evidence relevant to the proceedings.

(g) A state district court which has jurisdiction of the case which is the subject matter

of the agreement shall review the final action and decision of the committee, upon the

filing of a petition for review, which shall be filed within thirty (30) days following

service of the committee’s written decision upon the parties. At the date set for hearing,

the court shall review the record. If, before the date set for hearing, application is made

to the court for leave to present additional evidence, and it is shown to the satisfaction

of the court that the additional evidence is material, and there was good reason for

failure to present it in the proceeding before the committee on resolution of fee disputes,

the court may order that additional evidence be taken at the hearing.

The court may receive written briefs and hear oral argument in its discretion.

The briefing schedule shall be fixed by the court. The court may, in its discretion,

remand the case to the committee for proceedings in accordance with the direction

of the court. If the case is not remanded, the court shall enter judgment, affirming,

modifying, or reversing the order of the committee. The court’s judgment shall be

a final judgment appealable to the Wyoming Supreme Court.