Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 1.5.1 · Chapter 1. Lawyer-Client Relationship
Fee Divisions Among Lawyers
Text — 2026 edition, as the State Bar of California publishes it (read October 22, 2026)
(a) Lawyers who are not in the same law firm* shall not divide a fee for legal services unless:
(1) the lawyers enter into a written* agreement to divide the fee;
(2) the client has consented in writing,* either at the time the lawyers enter into the agreement to divide the fee or as soon thereafter as reasonably* practicable, after a full written* disclosure to the client of: (i) the fact that a division of fees will be made; (ii) the identity of the lawyers or law firms* that are parties to the division; and (iii) the terms of the division; and
(3) the total fee charged by all lawyers is not increased solely by reason of the agreement to divide fees.
(b) This rule does not apply to a division of fees pursuant to court order.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
Comment
The writing* requirements of paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) may be satisfied by one or more writings.*
Source of truth
- Edition
- 2026 edition, as the State Bar of California publishes it (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://www.calbar.ca.gov/sites/default/files/portals/0/documents/rules/Rules-of-Professional-Conduct.pdf (PDF pages 19–20)
- Text hash
- sha256 0a5a61e9a399df4a0f1dc40a33030aa6007a09c16540b6cc88787310d468ce3f
- Composed by
- rpc/build 2026-10-22: the State Bar's 2026 PDF (pages 12-71) read by two readers, PyMuPDF glyph positions and pdfminer with the PDF's tagged structure, agreeing on 834 of 843 paragraphs character for character, the other nine (paragraph boundaries only) resolved against the rendered page; 205,485 printed glyphs accounted for; the State Bar's chapter pages a third reading
Cited by 3 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 1.5.1. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.