Effective 5/5/2021
78B-3-111. Cause of action against attorney or law firm for referral fee — Exceptions.
78B-3-111. Cause of action against attorney or law firm for referral fee — Exceptions.
- (1) As used in this section:
- (a) “Attorney” means an individual who is authorized to provide legal services in any state or territory of the United States.
- (b) “Client” means an individual who is provided legal services by an attorney or a law firm.
- (c) “Client referral fee” means any amount paid by an attorney or a law firm to a person that is not an attorney for the purpose of referring the client to receive legal services from the attorney.
- (d) “Law firm” means a person that employs an attorney.
- (e) “Legal services” means any form of legal advice or legal representation that is subject to the laws of this state.
- (2) A client may bring a cause of action against an attorney or a law firm to recover a client referral fee if:
- (a) the attorney or the law firm pays a client referral fee; and
- (b) the client referral fee was not disclosed to the client before the client paid for, or was obligated to pay for, legal services from the attorney or the law firm.
- (3) A client may not bring a cause of action under this section if the client referral fee was paid:
- (a) as part of a profit-sharing plan that complies with the requirements of Section 401, Internal Revenue Code;
- (b) to a person that provides marketing services, including pay-per-click advertising, for the attorney or the law firm, and the client referral fee was not contingent on whether the attorney or the law firm retains a client; or
- (c) to a third party debt collection agency, as that term is defined in Section 12-1-11, for the purpose of recovering money owed to the attorney by the client.
- (4) Any attorney or law firm that provides legal services to the client in the matter for which the client referral fee was paid shall be jointly and severally liable in a cause of action under Subsection (2).
- (5) This section applies to a cause of action described in Subsection (2) that arises on or after May 5, 2021.
Enacted by Chapter 128, 2021 General Session