Lawyer’s Fee in the Case Condition Mediation Process (2020)

Naturally, lawyers are also entitled to attorney fees during the mediation process. This fee; Considering that the process is much shorter, much less stressful and much less demanding for lawyers compared to a lawsuit, it is certainly more satisfactory than the fee to be charged for a lawsuit; both materially and spiritually.

The parties may personally participate in the mediation process as a condition of the case. There is no obligation to be represented by a lawyer in mediation. However, the parties who wish can carry out the process without their presence by simply sending their lawyers. Of course, it is also possible for the parties to participate in the process together with their lawyers.

The lower limit of the fee to be paid by the party participating in the mediation process with its lawyer, if there is no other agreement between them and their lawyer, is determined by the Mediation Minimum Fee Tariffs and comes into force by being published in the Official Gazette every year. The minimum attorney fees for mediation valid for 2020 are as follows:

If no agreement is reached in mediation

If the mediation activity results in a dispute, a fixed fee of 900 TL is paid to the lawyer. However, the attorney’s fee cannot exceed the actual receivable in dispute.

This fee paid is deducted from the fee that the party will pay to its lawyer if the mediation activity results in a dispute and the party files a lawsuit with the same attorney.

If an agreement is reached in mediation

Works that involve money or can be evaluated in money

If an agreement is reached, it is paid according to a certain percentage of the agreed amount specified in the third part of the Turkish Bar Association Lawyer Minimum Wage Tariff (Tariff).

This ratio is as follows:

• 15 percent for the first 40,000 TL
• 13 percent for the next 50,000 TL
• 9.5 percent for the next 90,000 TL
• 7 percent for the next 250,000 TL
• 5 percent for the next 620,000 TL
• 3.5 percent for the next 775,000 TL
• 1.8 percent for the next 1,275,000 TL
• 1 percent for above 3,100,000 TL

Let’s explain this issue with an example:

Creditor A Ltd.Şti. The debtor sold goods to B A.Ş. and initiated enforcement proceedings for 170,000 TL because he could not receive his receivables arising from the invoice. The debtor objected to the debt and enforcement proceedings were stopped. The creditor must apply for mediation before filing a lawsuit to cancel the objection arising from the commercial sale. The parties’ lawyers carried out the mediation process, and at the end of the process, the parties agreed on the payment of 170,000 TL. In this case, A Ltd.Şti. and B A.Ş. to their own lawyers for this matter,

• 15 percent = 6,000 TL for the first 40,000 TL
• 13 percent for the next 50,000 TL = 6,500 TL
• 9.5 percent = 7,600 TL for the next 80,000 TL

will pay a total of 20,100 TL.

• The attorney’s fee for mediation activities up to 6,000 TL is 900 TL.
• However, this fee cannot exceed the actual receivable; For example, if the amount of the dispute is 600 TL, the attorney’s fee is 600 TL.

Works that do not involve money or cannot be evaluated with money

In cases where the mediation process results in an agreement in matters that do not involve money or cannot be evaluated in money, it is the fixed fee determined in the second part of the second part of the Tariff. These fees are as follows:

• 1,450 TL for cases to be heard in civil courts of peace
• 3,400 TL for cases to be heard in the courts of first instance
• 1,700 TL for cases to be heard in consumer courts
• 4,910 TL for cases to be heard in intellectual and industrial rights courts