One growing trend is for clients to enter into alternative fee arrangements in which one law firm represents multiple parties who “share” fees and costs in a related matter. For example, a law firm might represent co-defendants in one case or related litigation, and each party would pay a percentage of the fees, or each party may pay a portion of a total fixed fee for outside counsel. These joint-representation arrangements help avoid duplicative fees that would be incurred if all the parties had separate counsel doing the same tasks (preparing motions and briefs, attending hearings and discovery). By hiring one law firm to do these tasks for the group and then splitting the costs, the parties can more efficiently manage a matter and reduce their individual legal fees. However, joint representation is not without its own risks and challenges. In this sixth and final installment in our series, we consider five questions that a client should consider before entering into an alternative fee arrangement involving joint representation.

Originally published in Law360 - August 8, 2017.