New legal fees enforced as civil procedure rules take effect

Feb 12, 2017 News

New legal fees are attached to the working of the Georgetown Supreme Court and the Appeal Court as part of the implementation of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) 2016.
The new CPR was laid in the National Assembly in November 2016. This is the first time since Guyana became independent that the High Court rules have been subjected to a major overhaul. The changes have brought the new rules in line with similar rules in the Caribbean.
On January 16, 2017, the CPR 2016 replaced Guyana’s existing rules, which date back to 1955.
The 187-page document contains procedures for settling civil matters and making payments both in and out of court, and is expected to help to ease the clogging of courts by matters that can easily be settled.
According to information contained in the new guidelines recently seen by this newspaper, the fees are attached to the operations at the Court Registry, as well as the work of attorneys-at-law, court staff and marshals.
The information outlined in the document stipulates that the filing and other fees of the Registry upon the issuance of notices, statements of claim and other legal papers, would cost litigants as much $4,000 and as low as $500.
As it relates to Attorneys-at-Law, the rules state that lawyers may make an agreement with his or her client respecting the amount and manner of payment for the whole or a part of any past or future services done or to be done by the Attorney-at-Law, either by a gross sum or by commission or percentage, or by salary or otherwise, and may include disbursements incurred by the Attorney-at-Law in respect of such services.
Additionally, any agreement as to the remuneration of the Attorney-at-Law must be in writing and signed by the client.
“Such an agreement excludes any further claim of the Attorney-at-Law beyond the terms of the agreement in respect of the conduct and completion of the services in respect of which it is made, except as expressly excepted by the agreement.”
A provision in any such agreement is that the Attorney-at-Law is not to be liable for negligence or that he or she is to be relieved from any responsibility to which he or she would otherwise be subject.
The rules state that an Attorney-at-Law may accept from his or her client, and a client may give to the client’s lawyer security for the amount to become due to the business to be transacted by him or her.
“No claim may be brought upon any agreement as to the remuneration of an Attorney-at-Law, but every question respecting the validity or effect of it may be examined and determined, and it may be enforced or set aside on the application of any person who is a party to the agreement or who is or is alleged to be liable to pay or who is or claims to be, entitled to be paid the costs in respect of which the agreement is made.
Upon any such application, the Court may, if it appears to the Court that the agreement is in all respects fair and reasonable between the parties, order that the amount due thereunder be payable in such manner and subject to such conditions as to the costs of the application as the Court thinks fit.
As it relates to contingency fee agreements, lawyers are expected enter into a contingency fee agreement that provides that the remuneration paid to the Attorney-at-Law for the legal services provided to or on behalf of the client is contingent, in whole or in part, on the successful disposition or completion of the matter in respect of which services are provided.
“An Attorney-at-Law may not enter into a contingency fee agreement if the Attorney-at-Law is retained in respect of any criminal or quasi-criminal proceeding or a family law matter. As such, the document states that contingency fee agreement must be in writing.”

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