|
|
|
|
|
|
1. In regards to the above mentioned 'Lawyers Mininum Fee List', does anyone know how I could get hold of this list to verify whether I am charged the appropriate fee? And what is this list called in Turkish?Isabel
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
This list is called "Avukatlık Asgari Ücret Tarifesi." You can find this list at Istanbul Bar's website with the following link:
http://www.istanbulbarosu.org.tr/Doc...retcizelge.htm
You should bear in mind that a lawyer is not obliged to get into a fee agreement according to this list. In other words, this list does not set criteria to assess whether you are charged the appropriate fee. Then what is this list for? Firstly, this list will be taken into account when the judge calculates the lawyer fees attributable to the parties of the action when it comes to an end. Assume you claimed 50,000 TL in the action and the judge approved only 20,000 TL. In this case, you will be awarded lawyers fees for the approved part of your claim, and the defendant will be awarded fees for the refused part of your claim according to this list. According to the calculation formula in Section 3 of this list, for the above example, you would be awarded 2.400 TL for the approved 20,000, and the respondent would be awarded 5.400 TL for the refused 30,000, VAT included for both. Please bear in mind that the fees decided by the court as above will belong to lawyer (not set off from the fee you agreed with your lawyer) unless you agreed to the opposite in writing with your lawyer. Secondly, this list will be taken into account while calculating the fees you have to pay to your lawyer if there is no written fee agreement. Actually in such case, the fees are to be calculated according to art. 164 of Lawyers Act between 10 to 20 % of the amount awarded in the final judgment. (In this context, the final judgment means local court’s judgment approved by the Appeal Court, or the appeal procedure is closed.) However, this amount in any case can not be less then the fees mentioned in Section 3 of this list. On the other hand, the lawyer and the client may agree on a fee based on percentage not exceeding 25 % of the amount related with the action, or of the amount to be awarded to the principal. If the parties agreed on a percentage fee higher than this limit, the fee agreement is not invalid but the percentage is reduced to 25 %. Where the parties did not agree on a percentage basis but a fixed amount, this fixed fee is valid even if it exceeds 25 %. The only exception is the fixed fee being against morals and good faith according to art. 19 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, for example the amount payable to the lawyer is more than what the client would get in the end of the action.