You were confident about your case. You rejected the opposing party's settlement offer under Florida's Proposal for Settlement Statute for what you and your client thought was good reason. At the time the proposal was made, you and your client had every reason to believe the amount offered was substantially less than the true value of the claim. You fought to the end and lost. Your misplaced confidence has put you in the position of not only losing the case, but your client having to pay the opposing party's attorney fees. While things seem bleak, this article will explain how you can mitigate your losses and substantially reduce the fee award.

Florida's Proposal for Settlement Statute—codified in Section 768.79, Florida Statutes—employs a two-step process in awarding fees based on the failure to accept a proposal for settlement. The first step is the "entitlement" phase, and the second step is the "award" phase.