Short answer. Wyoming lets lawyers in different firms divide a fee only if the division is in proportion to the services each lawyer performs or each lawyer assumes joint responsibility for the representation; the client is informed of the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive, and the agreement is confirmed in writing; and the total fee is reasonable (Rule 1.5(e)). The rule states no percentage limit on either lawyer’s share. Since April 15, 2024, a referring lawyer may share in the fee by assuming joint responsibility under Rule 1.5(e)(1); until then, former Rule 1.5(f) barred a fee or commission solely for referring a case to another lawyer.
Sources read October 27, 2026; checked against LegalFlare’s research October 28, 2026. Rules text is as printed in the compiled Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct published by the Wyoming courts (wyocourts.gov), fetched October 27, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. See the disclaimer.
Wyoming’s referral fee rules at a glance
| Question | Wyoming’s answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Governing rule | Rule 1.5(e), Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct | Wyo. R. Prof. Conduct 1.5(e), PDF p. 20 |
| Written client consent | Required in substance: the client is informed of the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive, and the agreement is confirmed in writing | Rule 1.5(e)(2); Comment [7] |
| Notice to the client | The client is informed of the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive; the rule sets no deadline for the disclosure | Rule 1.5(e)(2) |
| Proportion to services or joint responsibility | Required, one or the other; since April 15, 2024, a referring lawyer may share in the fee by assuming joint responsibility | Rule 1.5(e)(1) |
| Reasonable total fee | Required | Rule 1.5(e)(3) |
| Cap on the secondary lawyer’s share | None stated in Rule 1.5(e) | Rule 1.5(e) |
| Statutes | No Wyoming statute found that addresses fee division, referral payments or solicitation of legal business (Titles 1, 6 and 33 searched) | Wyoming Statutes (searched October 27, 2026) |
What Rule 1.5(e) says
Rule 1.5(e) of the Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct governs the division of a fee between lawyers who are not in the same firm. Its words, as printed in the rules fetched October 27, 2026 (Wyo. R. Prof. Conduct 1.5(e), PDF p. 20):
(e) A division of a fee between lawyers who are not in the same firm may be made only if:
(1) the division is in proportion to the services performed by each lawyer or each lawyer assumes joint responsibility for the representation;
(2) the client is informed of the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive, and the agreement is confirmed in writing; and
(3) the total fee is reasonable.
The words of Rule 1.5(e)(1) have been in force since September 1, 2019, and those of Rule 1.5(e)(2) since October 6, 2014. The date the words of the lead-in and of Rule 1.5(e)(3) took effect is not established in our sources.
What the client must agree to in writing
The agreement must be confirmed in writing (Rule 1.5(e)(2)). The rule’s words require that the client be informed of the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive; Comment [7] says the client must agree to the arrangement, including each lawyer’s share, and the agreement must be confirmed in writing. A contingent fee agreement must also be in a writing signed by the client (Rule 1.5(c); Comment [7]).
What must be disclosed to the client
The client must be informed of the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive (Rule 1.5(e)(2)). The rule sets no deadline for the disclosure.
Proportionality or joint responsibility
One or the other is required: the division must be in proportion to the services each lawyer performs, or each lawyer must assume joint responsibility for the representation (Rule 1.5(e)(1)). Joint responsibility entails financial and ethical responsibility for the representation as if the lawyers were associated in a partnership (Comment [7]). The total fee must be reasonable (Rule 1.5(e)(3)).
Two earlier rules were stricter:
- From a date not held until August 31, 2019, Rule 1.5(e)(1) required the division to be in proportion to the services performed and each lawyer to assume joint responsibility.
- Former Rule 1.5(f), no longer in force, barred a fee solely for referring a case. Its last words in force, as printed in the compiled Rules of August 5, 2019 (Wyo. R. Prof. Conduct 1.5(f), PDF p. 15):
(f) A lawyer shall not pay or receive a fee or commission solely for referring a case to another lawyer.
The Wyoming Supreme Court’s order of February 6, 2024 struck it, effective April 15, 2024. The date the bar began is not held; it was in force before October 6, 2014.
Since April 15, 2024, a referring lawyer may share in the fee by assuming joint responsibility under Rule 1.5(e)(1).
Rule 1.5(e) does not prohibit or regulate dividing fees for work done when lawyers were previously associated in a firm (Comment [8]).
Referring a case out of Wyoming, or into it
Wyoming’s choice-of-law rule, Rule 8.5(b), has the ABA Model Rule’s words. It says which jurisdiction’s rules of professional conduct apply when Wyoming exercises its disciplinary authority (Wyo. R. Prof. Conduct 8.5(b), PDF p. 137):
(b) Choice of Law. In any exercise of the disciplinary authority of this jurisdiction, the rules of professional conduct to be applied shall be as follows:
(1) for conduct in connection with a matter pending before a tribunal, the rules of the jurisdiction in which the tribunal sits, unless the rules of the tribunal provide otherwise; and
(2) for any other conduct, the rules of the jurisdiction in which the lawyer’s conduct occurred, or, if the predominant effect of the conduct is in a different jurisdiction, the rules of that jurisdiction shall be applied to the conduct. A lawyer shall not be subject to discipline if the lawyer’s conduct conforms to the rules of a jurisdiction in which the lawyer reasonably believes the predominant effect of the lawyer’s conduct will occur.
The words of Rule 8.5(b)(1) and (b)(2) have been in force since October 6, 2014. The date the words of the lead-in took effect is not established in our sources.
Referring a case out of Wyoming, or receiving one into it. For a matter pending before a tribunal, the rules of the jurisdiction where the tribunal sits apply, unless the tribunal’s rules provide otherwise (Rule 8.5(b)(1)). For any other conduct, the rules of the jurisdiction where the conduct occurred apply, or of the jurisdiction where its predominant effect is; a lawyer is not disciplined for conduct that conforms to the rules of a jurisdiction where the lawyer reasonably believes the predominant effect will occur (Rule 8.5(b)(2)). Rule 1.5(e) governs a division of a fee between lawyers who are not in the same firm, and its words make no separate provision for a lawyer in another state.
We hold no Wyoming court decision or ethics opinion construing Rule 8.5(b) for a fee division or referral.
Paying for referrals, and nonlawyers
- Payment for referrals. “A lawyer shall not compensate, give or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services,” except as Rule 7.2(b)(1)–(5) allows: paying the reasonable costs of advertisements or communications permitted by the rule; paying the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service; paying for a law practice in accordance with Rule 1.17; referring clients to another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional under an agreement not otherwise prohibited by the rules that provides for the other person to refer clients or customers to the lawyer, if the reciprocal referral agreement is not exclusive and the client is informed of the existence and nature of the agreement; and giving nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be a form of compensation for recommending a lawyer’s services (Rule 7.2(b)).
- Lead generators. A lawyer may pay a lead generator only if it does not recommend the lawyer and the payment is consistent with Rules 1.5(e) and 5.4 (Comment [5] to Rule 7.2).
- Nonlawyers. A lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a nonlawyer, except as Rule 5.4(a)(1)–(5) allows: an agreement by a lawyer with the lawyer’s firm, partner or associate providing for payment of money, over a reasonable period of time after the lawyer’s death, to the lawyer’s estate or to one or more specified persons; payment of the agreed-upon purchase price, under Rule 1.17, to the estate or other representative of a deceased, disabled or otherwise unavailable lawyer whose practice a lawyer purchases; payment to the estate or other representative of a deceased, disabled or otherwise unavailable lawyer of the proportion of the total compensation that fairly represents that lawyer’s services, by a lawyer who completes that lawyer’s unfinished legal business; including nonlawyer employees in a compensation or retirement plan, even one based in whole or in part on a profit-sharing arrangement; and sharing court-awarded legal fees with a nonprofit organization that employed, retained or recommended employment of the lawyer in the matter (Rule 5.4(a)). Wyoming’s Rule 5.4(a)(3), on completing an unavailable lawyer’s unfinished business, has no Model Rule counterpart.
- Solicitation. Live person-to-person solicitation for pecuniary gain is barred except as Rule 7.3(b) allows.
- Statutes. No Wyoming statute addressing fee division, referral payments or solicitation of legal business was found. Our research screened Title 33, chapter 5 of the Wyoming Statutes and searched Titles 1, 6 and 33 for runners, cappers, barratry, solicitation, referral, commission and fee sharing (October 27, 2026).
Wyoming cases
No Wyoming court decision on fee division, referral fees, fee sharing with nonlawyers, payment for recommendations, solicitation or choice of law was found (searched October 27, 2026).
Wyoming ethics opinions
The Wyoming State Bar publishes no ethics opinion series. Its Bar Counsel ethics hotline gives non-binding advice. No Wyoming ethics opinion on fee division, referral fees, fee sharing with nonlawyers, payment for recommendations, solicitation or choice of law was found (searched October 27, 2026).
What our research did not find
- No Wyoming court decision or ethics opinion on fee division, referral fees, fee sharing with nonlawyers, payment for recommendations, solicitation or choice of law was found (searched October 27, 2026). The Wyoming State Bar publishes no ethics opinion series; its Bar Counsel ethics hotline gives non-binding advice. This page states the rules’ words only.
- Former Rule 1.5(f), the bar on a fee “solely for referring a case”, is quoted above only as former law: its words are the last words in force, struck by the Wyoming Supreme Court’s order of February 6, 2024, effective April 15, 2024. It is not in force. The date the bar began is not held; it was in force before October 6, 2014.
- The start dates of today’s words of the Rule 1.5(e) lead-in, Rule 1.5(e)(3), the Rule 5.4(a) lead-in, Rule 5.4(a)(1) and (a)(2), and the Rule 8.5(b) lead-in are not held. They were set by an order of 2006 or earlier, which was not collected.
- The earlier words of Rule 1.5(e)(2) before October 6, 2014 (“the client is informed of the arrangement; and”), and the earlier bar on paying for a recommendation printed as Rule 7.2(d) before 2014, are held only in the 2014 amending order and were not loaded.
Frequently asked questions
Can I share a referral fee with a lawyer in Wyoming?
Yes, under Rule 1.5(e) of the Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct. A division of a fee between lawyers who are not in the same firm may be made only if the division is in proportion to the services performed by each lawyer or each lawyer assumes joint responsibility for the representation; the client is informed of the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive, and the agreement is confirmed in writing; and the total fee is reasonable. Since April 15, 2024, a referring lawyer may share in the fee by assuming joint responsibility under Rule 1.5(e)(1). Until then, former Rule 1.5(f) provided that a lawyer shall not pay or receive a fee or commission solely for referring a case to another lawyer.
Is there a cap on referral fees in Wyoming?
Rule 1.5(e) states no percentage limit on either lawyer’s share. It requires that the total fee be reasonable (Rule 1.5(e)(3)), and that the division be in proportion to the services each lawyer performs or that each lawyer assume joint responsibility for the representation (Rule 1.5(e)(1)).
Does the client have to agree to a fee division in writing in Wyoming?
The agreement must be confirmed in writing (Rule 1.5(e)(2)). The rule requires that the client be informed of the arrangement, including the share each lawyer will receive; Comment [7] says the client must agree to the arrangement, including each lawyer’s share, and the agreement must be confirmed in writing. A contingent fee agreement must also be in a writing signed by the client (Rule 1.5(c); Comment [7]).
Can a Wyoming lawyer divide a fee with a lawyer from another state?
Rule 1.5(e) governs a division of a fee between lawyers who are not in the same firm, and its words make no separate provision for a lawyer in another state. Which jurisdiction’s rules of professional conduct apply when Wyoming exercises its disciplinary authority is set by Rule 8.5(b), which has the ABA Model Rule’s words. We hold no Wyoming court decision or ethics opinion construing Rule 8.5(b) for a fee division or referral.
Sources
- Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct (Rules 1.5 and its Comments [7] and [8], 5.4, 7.2 and its Comment [5], 8.5), compiled rules fetched October 27, 2026: wyocourts.gov
- Cases and ethics opinions: none found; see What our research did not find, above.
More states: Referral fee rules by state.
Disclaimer
This page summarizes a state’s rules on dividing fees between lawyers, from the primary sources it cites, as of the dates shown. It is general information for lawyers, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Rose Law Firm, PLLC dba LegalFlare. Rules and the way courts and bar authorities read them change. Read the cited sources, and check with the state bar or your own counsel, before relying on anything here.