Tip #321 - How To Enter Reduced Firm/Attorney Fee And Reduced By Amounts

Tip #321 How To Enter Reduced Firm/Attorney Fee And Reduced By Amounts

Occasionally, you may need to reduce the Attorney or Firm Fee to an amount less than that agreed to in the Retainer Agreement or Contract (e.g., the gross settlement amount is significantly less than anticipated). You may also want to specify, on the Settlement Statement, the original fee amount as calculated based on the Retainer Agreement, and the reduced fee amount. Prior to the 2024 version of SmartAdvocate, there was no way to have those amounts shown on the Settlement Page, or to have the system perform the calculations automatically. With the 2024 release, we have added fields for “Gross Fee,” “Amount,” “Reduced Fee,” and “Reduce By” to the Settlement Page.

Now, if a Reduced Fee Amount is entered, the calculations will be reflected on the Settlement Page, and will also be reflected in the other calculations on the page, and the “Net To Client” amount. Remember that the Retainer Fee Agreement percentage, Referral Fee percentage and Co-Counsel Fee percentage are all entered on the Retainer/Referral Page, and must be entered before the settlement is entered.

Please note – Referral Fees and Co-Counsel Fees, if any, are calculated after the reduction in Attorney/Firm Fees. Also, the merge codes for “Attorney Fee Before Reduction,” “Reduced By” and “Final Settlement Attorney Fees” are <! [SET-GROSS-ATTY-FEE-BEFORE-REDUCTION] !>, <! [SET-GROSS-ATTY-FEE-REDUCTION] !> and <! [SET-FIRM-FEE] !>, respectively.