INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 16
SPONSOR: John R. McCarty, P.O. Box 13987, Jackson, MS 39236; 601-352-7867
SUBJECT MATTER: Attorney's fees.
PROPOSED BALLOT TITLE: Should citizens be prohibited by the Constitution
from agreeing to pay more than a one-third contingency fee to their attorneys?
PROPOSED BALLOT SUMMARY: This amendment would prohibit a person from
contracting with his attorney for a contingency fee of over: 33 1/3 percent of
the first $50,000.00; twenty-five percent of the next $100,000.00; twenty
percent of the next $350,000.00; and fifteen percent of any further amounts
recovered. Regardless of any agreement with a client, an attorney would be
required to estimate and keep records of hours worked on a client's case. Fee
information would have to be disclosed.
ORIGINAL FILING: November 13, 1998
STATUS: Expired
Initiative Information
The official ballot title and ballot summary for an initiative measure are
prepared by the Mississippi Attorney General's Office. Initiative petitions are
valid for one year. According to Mississippi law, for an initiative petition to
be sufficient a minimum of 91,673 certified signatures must be gathered; with at
least 18,355 certified signatures from each of the five congressional districts.
The number of signatures required represents 12% of the total number of votes
cast for Governor in the last gubernatorial general election. All signatures on
the petition must be certified by county Circuit Clerks as those of registered
Mississippi voters.
For more information on the initiative process in Mississippi, consult the
Mississippi Constitution of 1890, Section 273; and Miss. Code Ann., Sections
23-17-1 through 23-17-61 (1972).