These disputes are totally avoidable, so lawyers should get a hefty share. The reason: because the lawyers will put their agreement in writing ahead of time.

As a lawyer, I cringe every time I hear of a "pool" sharing a winning ticket because I know that most people do not plan for the legal nuances or the tax consequences of their dreams.

(FYI - lawyers' fees are still required to be "reasonable" under ethics codes; one-third is generally considered to be automatically reasonable because of the risks and investments lawyers make in a case, but in many states the courts can consider one-third to be too much in certain circumstances)