Facts
Lawyer [A.] was the pro bono legal counsel for [C.B.] in the divorce proceedings of the spouses [B.B.] and [C.B.] before the District Court of Bülach. The District Court awarded him compensation of CHF 24,547.85, consisting of a fee of CHF 22,000.-- as well as cash expenses and value-added tax. [A.] filed a complaint with the High Court of the Canton of Zurich and requested that he be compensated according to his final invoice of CHF 38,499.90. The High Court dismissed the complaint.Considerations
The DFC states that the pro bono legal representative has a claim to "appropriate" compensation, which is to be determined by the canton. The cantons have wide discretion, both in determining the expenditure to be compensated and in setting the compensation rate. The DFC will only intervene if the determination of the fee is completely disproportionate to the services rendered by the lawyer and grossly violates the sense of justice. In the present case, the DFC states that the compensation of CHF 22,000.-- confirmed by…