A question we get often asked relates to the reimbursement of legal fees. Indeed, at the end of a trial, can one be reimbursed by the opposing party for the legal fees that one had to pay?

First, it is important to distinguish between legal fees and extrajudicial fees. Lawyers’ fees are included in the extrajudicial fees.

Legal Fees

Article 340 of the C.C.P. provides the principle according to which legal fees are due to the successful party, i.e. the party whose claim is upheld by the court. Thus, the losing party is, in principle, required to pay the legal costs incurred by the opposing party, all at the discretion of the judge.

The legal costs include the following elements: court costs and fees, professional fees and expenses for the service or notification of pleading, witness indemnities, expert fees, etc.

Extrajudicial Fees

As for the lawyer’s fees, which correspond to extrajudicial costs, in principle, each party must assume its lawyer’s fees. However, if the opposing party’s request or procedural act is abusive, the court may order the latter to pay the other party compensation for the payment of his lawyer’s professional fees. Abusive conduct may, for example, result, regardless of intent, from a judicial application or pleading that is “clearly unfounded, frivolous or intended to delay or in conduct that is vexatious or quarrelsome”. You should note that an order to cover the attorney’s fees is exceptional and is rarely granted by the court.