According to Florida case law, an attorney’s agreement to refund fees with costs in the event the attorney does not win the case is improper:
Stripped to the bone, the complaint is that accused (the lawyer) neglected to file his brief and thereby suffered the appeal he had contracted to prosecute to be dismissed by this court. Negligence is the sole basis of the complaint, there being no suggestion of moral turpitude. There is no way of telling how much those who filed the complaint (the client) were damaged. The suit was one to foreclose some tax certificates or liens on vacant city lots that had accrued for the *465 nonpayment of city taxes. The Circuit Court had granted a decree of foreclosure. There was the hope of reversing that and getting a reduction in taxes but if the appeal had resulted in an affirmance, nothing would have been accomplished. At best, the results of the appeal were speculative but the complaint and the evidence show that the accused agreed to refund his fee with costs if he did not win. Such agreements are improper and sometimes become champertous but the latter charge cannot be lodged against this one.
See: Holland v. Flournoy – 142 Fla. 459
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