Contingency Fee For Lawyers

More Commonly Asked Questions

Can a Lawyer’s Fee Vary Depending on My Case’s Outcome?

Yes. Sometimes a lawyer’s contingency fee agreement varies, depending on if your case is settled before filing suit or after. A fee agreement like this could allow for a 25% fee if settled before filing suit, for 33.333% if settled after filing suit, and for 40% if the case is tried.

Is It Worth Hiring an Attorney If I Have to Pay a Contingency Fee?

In most cases, yes. Hiring a lawyer on a contingent fee basis increases the total amount an injured person or family will receive in the end. This is because the insurance company expects you not to understand the law. They also know that the average injured person or family member will likely accept less than the full value of their case. Hiring an attorney can help you get your full, deserved amount during settlement.

What About Litigation Costs?

An important part of understanding a contingent fee agreement is understanding case expenses (commonly referred to as “costs”). There are two types of costs: Litigation expenses and taxable costs.

What Are Litigation Expenses?

Litigation expenses generally refer to the costs incurred while the case is being investigated and prosecuted. These include fees for obtaining records (i.e. crash reports and medical records), expert fees, and other fees incurred by the lawyer in order to prepare the case for trial.

Taxable costs include filing fees, deposition costs, and service fees.

One of the largest costs in a personal injury case is the cost of an expert. Experts are commonly retained by both plaintiffs and defendants in injury cases. Experts are hired in order to give their opinion of why something happened based on their specialized or scientific knowledge.

Because the experts have specialized knowledge, they are in high demand and therefore charge high fees. Pettit Law Office has seen experts charge fees up to $50,000 to give their opinion in a case – appearance to testify at trial is extra.

How Is an Attorney Contingency Fee Calculated?

When a case is settled or a jury awards a plaintiff compensation, then the calculation can begin. Usually, the attorney fee is calculated on the whole award. From there, costs and other bills are deducted. For an example, we will go through a hypothetical settlement.

Let’s assume John was in a car crash, hired an attorney, and reached a settlement amount of $50,000. John hired a lawyer for a ⅓ contingency attorney fee and that the lawyer incurred $2,500 of costs while working on the case. Let’s also assume that John didn’t have health insurance and has outstanding medical bills of $2,000.

When the settlement money comes in, the fee is paid to the attorney, the costs are also repaid to the attorney, the medical bills are then paid out of the client’s net amount. In the end, John received a check for $20,833.33. Not too bad.