DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: John Seibel, Fernando Henríquez, Patricio Silvestre, Cerjossy Tapia, Yeison Henríquez and Banahí Márquez, Seibel Henríquez
5. Costs, Fees and Funding 5.1 Legal Fees Regulation of Legal Fees
5.3 Contingency Fee Arrangement Legal Status and Regulation
Contingency fee agreements (cuota litis) are legal in the Dominican Republic and allow lawyers to charge a percentage of the economic recovery in a case, typi- cally only if the case succeeds, although the client may still assume litigation expenses. Law No 302 pro- vides that such fees cannot exceed 30% or fall below the statutory minimums, must be in writing, and are preferably notarised. Scope and Enforcement These arrangements are common across various areas of law. However, their enforcement is not auto- matic ‒ in cases of non-compliance, the lawyer must pursue judicial recovery, requiring careful structuring to avoid disputes. 5.4 Insurance Insurance coverage for litigation, arbitration, and ADR mechanisms is available in the Dominican Republic, although typically not as a standalone product. Cover- age is usually integrated within broader policies, par- ticularly those covering general liability or corporate risks. 5.5 Costs General Rule As a general rule, the losing party must reimburse the winning party for legal expenses. When both parties succeed in part, courts may allocate costs equitably. Certain specified areas of law provide exceptions to this principle. Scope and Exceptions Lawyers may claim costs in their favour; however, this principle is not absolute. In certain jurisdictions ‒ including administrative law, tax law, constitutional amparo proceedings, and family law matters ‒ costs are not imposed based on the principle of gratuity. In criminal matters, the same gratuity principle gener- ally applies, but an exception may be made for par- ties with private counsel, who may be ordered to pay costs as an accessory consequence of conviction.
Legal fees in the Dominican Republic are primar- ily regulated by Law No 302 on Legal Fees and its amendments, as developed through the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Justice. This system estab- lishes mandatory minimum tariffs for professional legal services, providing a protective framework for parties. The original fee amounts have become outdated, and the Supreme Court has mandated that they be adjust- ed according to inflation using multipliers set by the tax administration. Courts fully approve fees within the adjusted limits and reduce those that exceed them. Contingency Fees and Other Arrangements The law permits contingency fee agreements ( cuota litis ), which must now be claimed through a contested process and respect a maximum cap of 30%. Only individual lawyers can use the special fee recovery procedure; law firms and partnerships are excluded and must recover fees under general contract law. In practice, fees are typically negotiated in private agreements between clients and lawyers. Common methods include fixed fees for defined services, hour- The Dominican Republic has no statutory framework specifically recognising or regulating third-party fund- ing (litigation financing). The mechanism lacks autono- mous legal classification in the national legal order. However, absent any express legal prohibition, its implementation is legally viable in both ordinary court proceedings and arbitration. The validity of third-party funding agreements derives from the constitutional principle of contractual free- dom ‒ no party can be compelled to do what the law does not require or prohibited from doing what the law does not forbid. These agreements are governed by general principles of contract and obligation law, provided they do not contravene public policy or ethi- cal standards governing legal practice in the country. ly rates, and success fees. 5.2 Third-Party Funding Scope and Legal Framework
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