(A) Attorney fees in all matters shall be governed by DR 2-106 of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
(B) Attorney fees for the administration of estates shall not be paid until the final account is prepared for filing unless otherwise approved by the court upon application and for good cause shown.
(C) Attorney fees may be allowed if there is a written application that sets forth the amount requested and will be awarded only after proper hearing, unless otherwise modified by local rule.
(D) The court may set a hearing on any application for allowance of attorney fees regardless of the fact that the required consents of the beneficiaries have been given.
(E) Except for good cause shown, attorney fees shall not be allowed to attorneys representing fiduciaries who are delinquent in filing the accounts required by section 2109.30 of the Revised Code.
(F) If a hearing is scheduled on an application for the allowance of attorney fees, notice shall be given to all parties affected by the payment of fees, unless otherwise ordered by the court.
(G) An application shall be filed for the allowance of counsel fees for services rendered to a guardian, trustee, or other fiduciary. The application may be filed by the fiduciary or attorney. The application shall set forth a statement of the services rendered and the amount claimed in conformity with division (A) of this rule.
(H) There shall be no minimum or maximum fees that automatically will be approved by the court.
(I) Prior to a fiduciary entering into a contingent fee contract with an attorney for services, an application for authority to enter into the fee contract shall be filed with the court, unless otherwise ordered by local court rule. The contingent fee on the amount obtained shall be subject to approval by the court.
B.C.L.R. 71.1 COUNSEL FEES
(A) A lawyer shall not enter into an agreement for, charge, or collect an illegal or clearly excessive fee.
(B) A fee is clearly excessive when, after a review of the facts, a lawyer of ordinary prudence would be left with a definite and firm conviction that the fee is in excess of a reasonable fee. Factors to be considered as guides in determining the reasonableness of a fee include the following:
(1) The time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly;
(2) The likelihood, if apparent to the client, that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer;
(3) The fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services.
(4) The amount involved and the results obtained;
(5) The time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances;
(6) The nature and length of the professional relationship with the client;
(7) The experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services;
(8) Whether the fee is fixed or contingent.
(C) Counsel shall:
(1) Discuss alternative methods of charging fees with the fiduciary;
(2) Offer fee arrangements that reflect the true value of the services rendered;
(3) Reach agreements respecting fees with the fiduciary as early in the attorney-client relationship as possible;
(4) Determine the amount of fees by consideration of many factors and not just time spent;
(5) Provide written agreements as to all fee arrangements.
(D) Counsel rendering services to an estate, guardianship, or testamentary trust shall maintain an itemized statement of the services performed, the date the services were performed, the time spent in rendering the services, and if the fee arrangement with the estate is based on an hourly rate, the hourly rate charged. Time increments should be kept in one-tenth (0.1) of an hour.
(E) Upon the filing of an application for allowance of counsel fees for services rendered to an estate, the applicant shall give notice of a hearing on the application to all of those persons whose interests are affected by payment of the fees. If persons entitled to greater than fifty percent of the assets to be used for the payment of fees file their written consent to the allowance of counsel fees and counsel for the estate certifies this fact to the Court, the Court may dispense with the hearing on the application for allowance of counsel fees, and authorize that the counsel fees be paid subject to any exceptions to the fiduciary’s account filed by any non-consenting beneficiaries or other interested parties.
(F) For good cause shown, the Court may dispense with a hearing on any application for allowance of counsel fees, and authorize that the counsel fees be paid subject to any exceptions to the fiduciary’s account filed by any non-consenting beneficiaries or other interested parties.
(G) Upon the filing of an application for allowance of counsel fees for services rendered to a guardianship or testamentary trust, the Court may dispense with a hearing on the application for allowance of fees, and authorize that the counsel fees be paid subject to any exceptions to the fiduciary’s account filed by any non-consenting interested parties.
(H) If assets being relieved from administration are used to pay counsel fees for services rendered in such estates, then the counsel fees shall be listed as an estate debt on the back of the Schedule of Assets and Liabilities of Estate to be Relieved from Administration (Standard Probate Form 5.1). The allowance of counsel fees shall be determined at the time of the hearing on the application to relieve. In estates relieved from administration, counsel fees shall not be paid until after the Entry Relieving the Estate from Administration (Standard Probate Form 5.6) has been approved by the Court.
(I) In estates of decedents in which the sole legatee, devisee, or heir is also the executor or administrator, and in which no partial accountings and no final account or final and distributive account is required by law, an application for allowance of attorney fees may be filed with the Court prior to the filing of a Certificate of Termination (Standard Probate Form13.6).
B.C.L.R. 71.2 CONTINGENT FEE AGREEMENTS
(A) In the event that any portion of a settlement involving claims for injuries to minors, claims involving adult wards, or claims for wrongful death is a structured settlement, defined as a settlement wherein payments are made on a periodic basis, and a contingent fee agreement is used, the present value of the settlement shall be used to fix and determine the attorney’s contingent fees.