LEBANON Law and Practice Contributed by: Nayla Comair-Obeid, Ziad Obeid and Zeina Obeid, Obeid & Partners
2.6 Contingency Fees Contingency fees are permitted under Lebanese law. The Lebanese Legal Profession Act provides that legal fees are determined by an agreement concluded between the lawyer and the client. This Act does not provide an indication nor a restriction on the nature of the agreement, which remains subject to the parties’ contractual free will. However, the Lebanese Legal Profession Act grants the court the right to reduce the fees in civil cases if they exceed 20% of the value of the contended matter. 2.7 Time Limit for Obtaining Third-Party Funding Not applicable. The court does not impose any rules on the parties in relation to pre-action conduct, per se. However, a notice is usually sent to the default- ing party to remedy the breach before initiating proceedings. The notice in some instances is mandatory and usually provides a time limit for the defendant to reply and remedy the breach before the plaintiff can commence judicial pro- ceedings. It should be noted that, in civil matters, the creditor may be exempted from sending such notice – ie, when the performance of the obliga- tion becomes impossible, or when the obligation was to return an item/asset that was stolen, or when the term of the obligation has lapsed (Arti- cle 258 of the Code of Obligations and Contracts (COC)). 3. Initiating a Lawsuit 3.1 Rules on Pre-action Conduct
ties must be represented by a lawyer where the value of the claim exceeds LBP50 mil- lion. The same applies to parties objecting to enforcement, pursuant to Article 855 of the LCCP. Specific considerations: • The appointment of a legal representative is not required before the Labour Arbitral Coun- cil, addressing labour disputes. • In addition, trainee lawyers are not entitled to attend hearings before the courts of appeal and cassation, except in specific matters (eg, before the court of appeal on behalf of the defendants in misdemeanours). 2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding The law does not address this issue. To the best of the knowledge of the authors, there have been no lawsuits in Lebanon officially involving third- party funders. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits To the best of the knowledge of the authors, there have been no lawsuits in Lebanon involv - ing third-party litigation funders. 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant Not applicable. 2.4 Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Third-Party Funding Not applicable. 2.5 Types of Costs Considered Under Third-Party Funding Not applicable.
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