What is the rule, outcome and recommendation for the below opinion?

FLORIDA BAR ETHICS OF WION OPINION 02-1 January 11, 2002 Advisory ethics opinions are not binding. An attorney may not give e bonus to a nonlawyer employee solely based on the number of how's worked by the employee RPC: 4-5.4 A member of The Florida Ber hes requested an advisory ethics opinion. The operative facts as presented in the inquiring attorney's letter and telephone call are es follows. Specifically, the attorney inquires May I bonus a nom-lewyer employee based on the number of hours the nonlawyer employee has worked on a case for a particular client? As a family low attorney, I do virtually nothing at a flat rate and certainly no work is done by percentage. I bill my time and the time of my legal assistant at separate hourly rates which ere itemized on the client's bill and described in the written fee agreement with the client. I would like to bonus my employees based on their own productivity. I would not be utilizing any portion of the fees received by me for that purpose. Although the ettorney did not specifically state it in the written request. during the hotline call the attorney proposed the following: If the legal assistant works ten hours on e case and the ettorney bills the client ten hours of legal assistant time, may the attorney pay : bonus to the legal essistent based on a certain rate times ten hours? Rule 4-9.4[e), Florida Rules of Professional Conduct, provides that e lawyer or lew flim "shell not shere legel fees with : nonlawyer." Rule 4-3.48 4) specifically desis with the issue of "bonus" payments to nonlawyer personnel in : lew firm. The rule provides es follows: [:] Sharing Fees with Nonlawyers. A lawyer or lew firm shell not shere legal fees with a nonlawyer, except that (4) bonuses may be paid to monlawyer employees based on their extraordinary efforts on a particular case or over a specified time period, provided that the payment is not based on the generation of clients or business and is not calculated es a percentage of legal fees received by the lawyer or lew firm. Furswent to Rule 4-9.48 4) the inquirer may pey the firm's legal swistent : bonus, but that bonus cannot be based in anyway upon : percentage of fees generated by the legal swistent or the firm and cannot be based upon generating clients for the fin. Bonuses to non-lawyer employees cannot be calculated es a percentage of the firm's fees or of the gross recovery in cases on which the non-lawyer worked. See Florida Ethics Opinion 89-4 (law firm cannot pay to firm marketing manager: bonus based upon percentage of business she generates for the firm - Rule 4-7.2 c (8] [see current Rule 4-717jo]1. Florida Rules of Professional Conduct, further prohibits attorneys from giving "anything off value to : person for recommending the lawyer's services. ....* Based on the rules and opinion, the inquiring attorney mey mey the legal existent : bonus based on the legal assistant's extraordinary efforts on : particular case or over a specific period of time. While the number of hours the legal existant works on a particular case or over a specific period of time is one of several factors that can be considered in determining a bonus for the legal assistant, it is not the sole fector to be considered. It must be remembered that the rule allows = bonus to be paid to : nonlawyer based on "extreordinary efforts" either in a particular case or over a specific time period. A bonus which is solely calculated on the number of hours incurred by the legal assistant on the metter is tentemount to a finding that every single hour incurred wes an "extraordinary effort", and such a finding is very unlikely to be true. Therefore, unless every single hour incurred by the legal assistant wes s truly extraordinary effort, it would be impermissible for the inquiring attorney to pay a bonus to his legal assistant calculated in the manner the inquiring attorney has proposed. However, the number of hours incurred by the leg: assistant on the particular matter or over e specified time period may be considered by the lawyer as one of the factors in determining the legal existent's bonus .