In Quinn v. State of California (1975) 15 Cal.3d 162, an injured worker sued and recovered a judgment from a negligent third party; from this judgment the employer recouped the amount he had paid the employee in compensation benefits. The court held that the employee's attorney was entitled to a reasonable attorney's fee from the employer based upon the services rendered in recouping the amount the employer had paid in compensation benefits. The court predicated its holding "upon the equitable principle of apportionment long applied by the courts and upon the Legislature's incorporation of such principle into section 3856 . . . ." of the Labor Code. ( Quinn v. State of California, supra, at p. 166.)