Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 20 - Labor › Part 1 - Rules of the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission › Chapter 2 - Procedural Rules › Rule 20-1-2.12 - Attorneys

Current through June 25, 2024
Upon satisfactory evidence of employment, attorneys shall be
				  entitled to all information available to their respective clients, whether
				  claimants or employers. Either party shall likewise be bound by the acts of his
				  respective counsel until a revocation of employment is filed with the
				  Commission.
A fee of not more than $200.00, or an aggregate of $200.00
				  in any one claim shall be considered consultation, and shall not be submitted
				  to the Commission for approval. In all instances where a claimant's attorney's
				  fees in any matter exceed $200.00, a fee agreed upon by the attorney and
				  claimant shall be submitted to the Commission for approval per Miss. Code Ann.
				  Section
				  71-3-63.
				  Although exceptions may be made in the interest of justice, it shall be deemed
				  conducive to the best interest of all concerned for the Commission to approve
				  contracts voluntarily entered into between attorney and client within the
				  limitations set out in Miss. Code Ann. Section
				  71-3-63.
The Commission will review all attorney's fees in light of
				  the interest of justice and fairness to both attorney and client as required in
				  Miss. Code Ann. Section
				  71-3-63.
				  In any proposed settlement under Miss. Work. Comp. Rule
				  2.15, the maximum allowable
				  twenty-five percent (25%) attorney's fee shall be calculated based on the
				  aggregate present day value of settlement proceeds, which includes all
				  indemnity and all future medical benefits, so long as any future medical
				  expenses are fully funded. If the allowable attorney's fee invades the future
				  medical expenses, the attorney may reduce the lien or negotiate a separate
				  attorney fee to be paid by the employer/carrier not to exceed the maximum
				  allowable 25% of the aggregate settlement amount. In any event in which future
				  medical expenses are not fully funded, the settlement shall be presumed not to
				  be in the best interest of the claimant as required by Miss. Code Ann. Section
				  71-3-29.
If medical benefits are awarded and indemnity benefits have
				  been paid out or claimant no longer has access to indemnity benefits, the
				  parties may agree to a separate reasonable attorney's fee to be paid by the
				  employer/carrier not to exceed the maximum allowable 25% of the aggregate
				  settlement amount. An attorney who is not licensed in good standing to practice
				  law in Mississippi, but who is
a.
				currently a member in good standing of the bar of another state, the District
				of Columbia, or other American jurisdiction and
b. who is of good moral character and
				familiar with the ethics, principles, practices, customs, and usages of the
				legal profession in this state, may appear as counsel pro hac vice in a claim
				before the Commission, pursuant to the conditions set forth in the Mississippi
				Rules of Appellate Procedure (Rule 46).
This Rule shall be in force and effect on and after January
				  15, 2018.
Miss. Code Ann.
				  §
										71-3-85.