How contingency fees work is an important part of any personal injury case. With a contingency fee, your attorney works on your behalf to win you the compensation that you deserve. You don’t pay any money upfront for their services. Then, the attorney accepts a portion of the settlement as their fee. You agree on the percentage in advance.
Contingency fees can be a welcome relief for injury victims who are worried about paying for legal services. As a client and the victim, it’s important that you’re comfortable with contingency fees and how your lawyer gets paid for their services. Our Tampa personal injury attorneys explain how contingency fees work.
How Do Contingency Fees Work?
Contingency fees work by an agreement between the client and attorney where the attorney represents the client with no payment upfront. The parties agree that the attorney may receive a portion of the client’s financial settlement if and when the client wins monetary compensation.
If the client doesn’t win their case, the attorney receives nothing. However, if the client wins, the attorney receives a share of the recovery as payment based on the terms that the parties agree to in their contingency fee agreement.
Tampa Attorneys Who Offer Contingency Fee Agreements
Our Tampa attorneys offer contingency fee representation! If you’ve been hurt in a personal injury accident, we want to make sure that you have the representation that you deserve. Call Jack Bernstein, Injury Attorneys today for your free consultation.
What Is an Attorney Contingency Fee?
An attorney contingency fee is an agreement that allows an attorney to receive pay for services out of the amount that the client ultimately wins for their case. The attorney agrees to begin and pursue the case without upfront payment or with a flat upfront fee. The amount that the attorney gets paid for their services at the end of the case is a percentage share of what the client wins for the case.
An attorney contingency fee is an agreement for the client to pay the attorney a percentage of their winnings as the attorney’s fee for services.
How Does Hiring a Contingency Attorney Work?
Hiring a contingency attorney works by making an agreement upfront with the attorney for that kind of fee agreement. When the lawyer and client meet to talk about representation, they talk about fees for the lawyer’s services and how billing works.
If the client wishes to hire the injury attorney on a contingency fee basis, the parties execute a written agreement. Then, once representation is complete, the parties calculate the attorney’s fee for services based on their agreement.
How Are Contingency Fees Calculated?
Attorney fees are calculated according to the agreement. In other words, whatever you specifically work out with your attorney for your unique agreement is how contingency fees are calculated. The parties typically deduct for court costs and fees and then calculate a percentage of what remains for the lawyer’s fee.
For example, a client is hurt in a personal injury accident. The insurance company for the defendant initially offers a settlement of $30,000. However, the victim hires an attorney. With the attorney’s help, the total recovery is $100,000.
The contingency fees are calculated by first deducting for court costs. For example, it might cost $150 to file a civil claim, $350 for other court costs like subpoena services and motion fees, and $5,000 for an expert witness. Along with other miscellaneous charges, the costs total $6,000. The $6,000 gets deducted from the $100,000 for a remaining total of $94,000.
Say the contingency fee is one-third or 33%. The $94,000 figure is multiplied by 33%. That amount is $31,020. The attorney’s fee is $31,020. The client receives $62,980, or more than double than they would have received in compensation without the assistance of the attorney.
Keep in mind that this is just one example. Every case is different. Your attorney can explain and detail how the arrangement works in your case and what to expect as possible outcomes for your specific situation.
Contingency for Personal Injury
Contingency for personal injury allows the client to pursue aggressive litigation without having to worry about paying for the attorney’s time. The attorney doesn’t get paid based on how many hours they put into the case. Instead, the attorney gets paid based on how successful they are for the client.
The client doesn’t have to worry that they won’t win their case and be stuck with a hefty legal fee. If the lawyer doesn’t win for the client, the lawyer doesn’t get paid. The lawyer has an incentive to win the highest amount possible. It doesn’t matter how much time the lawyer puts in on the case. Instead, they get paid only as a percentage of what they win for the client.
A contingency fee agreement can be an effective way to hire a lawyer without risk. Often, when an injury accident happens, the victim doesn’t even know how they’re going to pay their own bills, let alone pay an attorney. With a contingency fee agreement, the lawyer can get right to work without money having to change hands. Often, using a contingency fee, the client can recover much more than they might have recovered without representation. All the while, the client has the peace of mind that their legal fees are covered, and their attorney can aggressively pursue their case to completion.
Contact Jack Bernstein, Injury Attorneys to Discuss Contingency Fee Representation Today
A contingency fee agreement can be the right way to secure legal representation after a personal injury. If you’ve been hurt in an injury accident, we invite you to come meet with our legal team to see if a contingency fee arrangement may be right for you. The Jack Bernstein, Injury Attorneys team can explain how a contingency fee basis works and what to expect for your case.
You deserve the best legal representation. We pride ourselves on making sure that every client gets the representation that they deserve without having to worry about paying for legal representation. Call us today to talk about your case. There is no fee unless you win.