With the decree of the Ministry of the Justice no. 147/2022, which modifies the decree no. 55/2014, the reference parameters – which are applicable in the event that lawyers and clients have not consensually determined in writing professional fees – have been finally updated and adjusted to some important changes in the Law occurred in the past years.
First all, it must be pointed that the recent decree introduces the option for the parties to agree freely and expressly upon the lawyer’s professional fee on the basis of the hourly rate, which must be quantified by the parties within a range of between a minimum of 200 euro and a maximum of 500 euro per hour or fraction of an hour exceeding 30 minutes.
The prohibition affecting the agreements by which the lawyer receives as total or partial remuneration a share of the asset that is the subject of the professional assistance or of a dispute remains unchanged.
When the legal advisor and the client have in no way reached an agreement about the fee owed to the professional for his/her assistance and advice, the parameters represent the way to obtain such determination, especially when the matter is brought to the attention of the judge.
The decree, which still subdivides the parameters in relation to the competent Court or the subject matter of the dispute, with specific regard to out-of-court activities, refers to the value of the business, e.g. the sale price of a property, then identifies thresholds of values in which a reference fee is stated with a figure (the average fee) or a percentage of the value. This figure, according to the new decree, can be increased or decreased by 50% according to the characteristics, the urgency, the quality of the activity provided, the importance of the work, the difficulties, the nature, the value of the business, the number and omplexities of the legal issues, the relevance of the work carried out in another language, the results achieved and so on.
The previous discipline concerning the reimbursement of documented expenses, statutory
reimbursement of flat-rate expenses (15%), reimbursements for travel expense has undergone no
change.
