What is quantum meruit?

written by Howard

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:

  1. When there is no express contract for payment of attorney’s fees;
  2. When although there is a formal contract for attorney’s fees, the fees stipulated are found unconscionable or unreasonable by the court;
  3. When the contract for attorney’s fees is void due to purely formal defects of execution;
  4. When the lawyer, for justifiable cause, was not able to finish the case to its conclusion;
  5. When the lawyer and the client disregard the contract for attorney’s fees; and
  6. 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)