O problema dos honorários advocatícios

a verba sucumbencial como instrumento de racionalização contenciosa

Abstract

This article examines the historical and legal evolution of attorney’s fees for losing a case in Brazil, from the punitive nature of the 1939 Code of Civil Procedure to the remuneration model consolidated by the 2015 Code of Civil Procedure. It analyzes how ownership of the funds shifted from the winning party to the lawyer and how the new code transformed losing a case into an instrument for streamlining litigation, imposing costs and responsibilities proportional to judicial defeat. It highlights the tension between normative predictability and judicial autonomy, as well as the impacts of this transition on procedural culture and judicial efficiency. It concludes that the current regime reflects a structural change that values the legal profession and seeks to curb excessive litigation through economic incentives and jurisprudential stability.