Former counsel not entitled to equitable apportionment of attorney’s fees awarded to current counsel in a compromise and release agreement.

This case involves a fee dispute between a claimant’s former attorney—who represented the claimant in a claim petition that was granted—and the attorney who later represented him in a settlement and earned a 20% fee from a C&R approved by a Workers’ Compensation Judge, who issued a decision upholding the claimant’s fee agreement with his C&R attorney. The claimant’s former attorney appealed to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, which affirmed.

The Commonwealth Court affirmed the WCAB and dismissed the appeal of prior counsel, noting that the Judge has authority to determine what constitutes a reasonable attorney’s fee. It also noted that former counsel received a 20% fee from the date of the injury through the date of the C&R hearing. In fact, former counsel continued to receive his 20% fee even though the claimant discharged him two to four months prior to the C&R hearing. Former counsel additionally acknowledged that his law firm did not obtain a settlement offer from the employer while representing the claimant.

_{Case Law Alerts, 2^nd Quarter, April 2015}

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