Attorneys

Attorneys. 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.