Distinction of Attoryney's fee and Acceptance fee

A.C. No. 10912. January 9, 2016
PAULINA T. YU, Complainant vs. ATTY. BERLIN R. DELA CRUZ

There is a distinction between attorney’s fee and acceptance fee. It is well-settled that attorney’s fee is understood both in its ordinary and extraordinary concept. In its ordinary sense, attorney’s fee refers to the reasonable compensation paid to a lawyer by his client for legal services rendered. Meanwhile, in its extraordinary concept, attorney’s fee is awarded by the court to the successful litigant to be paid by the losing party as indemnity for damages. On the other hand, acceptance fee refers to the charge imposed by the lawyer for merely accepting the case. This is because once the lawyer agrees to represent a client, he is precluded from handling cases of the opposing party based on the prohibition on conflict of interest. Thus, this incurs an opportunity cost by merely accepting the case of the client which is therefore indemnified by the payment of acceptance fee. Since the acceptance fee only seeks to compensate the lawyer for the lost opportunity, it is not measured by the nature and extent of the legal services rendered.