The supreme court determined that section 22(A)(14) prohibits not only traditional
fee splitting, which the court described as "a dividing of a professional fee for a specialist's medical services with the recommending physician," (14) but also the sharing of a percentage of the physician's fees for medical services performed by the physician.
At a meeting in Tampa on October 17, 1997, the board made its most recent statement on the issue of fee splitting related to medical practice management.
The board held that this agreement was not prohibited under the fee splitting statute.
Bar Ethics Counsel Elizabeth Tarbert told the two committees that fee splitting rules date back to 1928 ABA canons and have been part of Florida Bar rules since its inception.
While he said small fixed fees for routine legal services might not be a problem, in higher value cases "the corrupting effect of fee splitting is that it influences your independent judgment on how to handle a case."
Schwait said the issue was complicated because an inquiring lawyer received a Bar staff ethics opinion about LawButler that the proposed arrangement did not constitute prohibited
fee splitting because the company planned to collect information from clients,
It also sponsored a CLE program at the convention, which included information on recent changes in state health laws, responding to state charges of patient brokering and
fee splitting, ethical issues, and charity care class action lawsuits.
Supporters of that vote noted that the Social Security Administration allows nonlawyers to represent others in administrative hearings and that
fee splitting is not involved if the fee goes to the firm and not the paralegal.
The lawyer wanted to know if that violated the comment to Rule 4-1.17 which said divisions of fees after a sale must comply with Rule 4-1.5 on
fee splitting.
Another change would specify that a
fee splitting arrangement between lawyers not in the same firm would not have to be filed with the Bar unless it was rejected by the judge who reviews it.
A company that wants to provide answers to simple legal questions over the phone in conjunction with a local bar lawyer referral service could find itself violating Florida Bar rules on lawyer referral services and
fee splitting, according to the Professional Ethics Committee.
The current debate about multidiciplinary practices -- now prohibited to the extent they involve
fee splitting and nonlawyer partnerships -- is a good illustration of one of the significant challenges lawyers have in dealing with the dramatic changes facing the profession, said Tallahassee's Barnett.
Hume said MDPs would affect a lawyer's undivided loyalty to a client, allow prohibited
fee splitting and compromise other values.
He said the MDP issue affects
fee splitting, unlicensed practice of law, supervising employees, confidentiality, solicitation of business, trust funds, pro bono and many other areas of Bar rules.
