Everything about lawyer fee recovery in Spain: engagement letter, jura de cuentas procedure, taxation of costs, fee challenge and limitation periods.
The EGAE 2021 requires lawyers to inform clients about fees before starting any engagement. The engagement letter should cover scope of services, fee basis (hourly, flat fee, contingency), billing frequency, additional expenses, and dispute resolution.
Jura de cuentas (Art. 35 LEC): A fast, specialized procedure for lawyers to recover fees from their own client. The court clerk notifies the client, who can pay, challenge as excessive (triggering a bar association fee review), or dispute as unowed (converting to ordinary litigation).
Monitorio (Art. 812 LEC): Standard debt collection for liquid monetary claims of any amount.
Ordinary/Verbal Proceedings: For disputes about the existence or amount of the engagement.
When the opposing party is ordered to pay costs, the procedure is tasación de costas (Art. 241 LEC), covering lawyer fees, procurador fees, expert fees, and other expenses.
Fee claims prescribe after 3 years from when they became due (Art. 1967 CC).
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