Lawyer fees are usually paid by the parties. In layman’s terms, whoever hires the lawyer pays. However, in some cases, for example, the parties agree in the contract that the subject of the contract shall bear the attorney's fees, or in some intellectual property cases such as trademarks and patents, the plaintiff requests the defendant in the complaint to bear the attorney's fees incurred in investigating and stopping the infringement. The court may order the costs to be borne by the losing party. In addition, if the parties agree in the contract that attorney fees will be borne by the losing party, claims for attorney fees in litigation or arbitration will generally be supported.
When drafting a contract between the parties, attorney's fees can be listed as liquidated damages, and there are even detailed provisions on the method and standard of bearing attorney's fees. When preparing such liquidated damages, special attention must be paid to clearly stating "attorney's fees". The plaintiff must submit the contract signed with the law firm and the invoice issued by the law firm as evidence of payment of attorney fees. However, the specific amount of support depends on the judge's discretion. Depending on the nature of the case, the court will usually support "reasonable" attorney fees, but will not support the entire cost.
Legal Basis
"Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Personal Injury Compensation Cases"
Article 17 Basis for Living Expenses of Dependents The degree of loss of the ability to support is determined based on the per capita consumption expenditure of urban residents and the per capita annual living consumption expenditure of rural residents in the previous year where the court is located. The living expenses of the dependent shall be calculated based on the per capita consumption expenditure of urban residents and the per capita annual living consumption expenditure of rural residents in the location of the court where the lawsuit is filed in the previous year. If the dependent is a minor, the calculation will be until the age of eighteen; if the dependent is incapable of working and has no other source of livelihood, the calculation will be until the age of twenty. However, for those who are over sixty years old, the number of years will be reduced by one year for every additional year of age; for those who are over seventy-five years old, the number of years will be calculated as five years. Dependents refer to minors or close adult relatives who are incapable of working and have no other source of living, and for whom the victim has a legal obligation to support. If the dependent has other caregivers, the person obligated to compensate will only compensate the victim for the portion that he should bear according to law. If there are multiple dependents, the total annual compensation shall not exceed the per capita consumption expenditure of urban residents or the per capita annual living consumption expenditure of rural residents in the previous year.