Agreement between attorney and client

Shalom, I am an attorney. I put in writing the following agreement with a client: “I, the undersigned ____ , approached you to receive legal services and handling of the matter: a claim against ______. For the aforementioned services and handling of the above matter, we agree to pay you the sum of: 35% of any amount that will be collected.” At the end of the proceedings, the court ruled that the defendant must pay the client a certain amount, and an additional amount for expenses. According to the client, he is not supposed to pay me a percentage from the awarded expenses, since this amount is to cover his outlays such as the court filing fee, and my fee is derived only from the amount awarded by the court, excluding expenses. My question: in light of what was agreed upon in writing in the fee agreement, is he required to pay me a percentage from the entire amount ultimately collected, including the payment for the client’s expenses, or only from the amount awarded excluding expenses? In addition, my question is whether the client must pay me for handling the counterclaim, which I conducted as part of the proceedings, as follows: In the fee agreement we did not anticipate that the defendant would file a counterclaim, and in practice, when he filed the counterclaim, it was necessary to defend against it, which included drafting a statement of defense, etc. Is the client obligated to pay for this, even though nothing was agreed upon about it, or is it considered part of the main case, even though it was not specified in the fee agreement?

Shalom u’vracha.

Directive of the dayanim of the Beit HaHora’ah:

It should first be stated that any monetary dispute must be presented before a dayan in the presence of both parties. [It is possible to schedule a telephone hearing on the Beit HaHora’ah line of Rabbi Amram Fried shlita, 0733260800, extension 12]. The answer given here is only a general guideline.

A. Reason dictates that reimbursement of expenses is not profit, and is therefore not included in the percentage that was agreed upon between you.

B. This depends on the wording of the agreement between you: whether the agreement covered only your claim, or whether the entire conduct vis-à-vis the defendant was included in the agreement.

[According to the wording of the question, it appears that it was clear to both of you that you are the one who is supposed to respond to the counterclaim, and there is no aspect that is outside the scope of your obligations toward the client. If so, there is no room for additional payment].

The dayanim of the Beit HaHora’ah.

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