Quantum meruit means as much as the lawyer deserves or such amount which services merit. Recovery of attorney’s fees on the basis of quantum meruit is authorized:
- When there is no express contract for payment of attorney’s fees;
- When although there is a formal contract for attorney’s fees, the fees stipulated are found unconscionable or unreasonable by the court;
- When the contract for attorney’s fees is void due to purely formal defects of execution;
- When the lawyer, for justifiable cause, was not able to finish the case to its conclusion;
- When the lawyer and the client disregard the contract for attorney’s fees; and
- When the client dismissed his counsel before the termination of the case or the latter withdrew therefrom for valid reasons.
(Agpalo, Legal and Judicial Ethics, p. 369)
