subject: How Automobile Accident Lawyers Charge [print this page] You may know that you need a lawyer to help you after you've been injured in an automobile accident. At the same time, you may be worried about how you'll pay for a lawyer. This article explains how car accident lawyers collect fees for their legal work.
Of course, some lawyers, and some cases, are different. This is more of a general guide than a definitive statement of how any particular lawyer would handle your case.
CONTINGENT FEE AGREEMENTS
In most automobile accident cases the lawyer and client enter into a contingent fee agreement. Under a contingent fee agreement, the lawyer only earns a fee if some event - a "contingency" - happens. Normally, that contingency is that the client wins a judgment or the case settles.
The amount of the judgment that comes back from the jury or judge, or the amount of the settlement if your lawyer is able to resolve the case before trial, is what determines the lawyer's fee in a contingent fee case.
PORTION OF THE FEE AWARD
Normally, in an automobile accident case, if the case is resolved through settlement, that percentage of the recovery that is the lawyer's fee is 33 percent. If a lawsuit has to be filed, the percentage normally goes up, and in the very rare cases where there is an appeal after the lawsuit the percentage goes up yet again. The reason the percentage of the recovery increases is because at those points, there is generally not a significant increase in what the likely recovery is going to be, but there is a significant increase in the amount of work the attorney has to do.
The lawyer's fee in this kind of arrangement is normally based on the gross recovery. There are almost certainly costs of bringing a lawsuit or investigating a claim. These costs include filing fees, expert costs, investigator costs, the costs of getting medical records, deposition costs, and the cost of preparing exhibits, among other things. What the client recovers at the end is reduced by the lawyer's fee and the costs of the litigation.
ADVANTAGES OF A CONTINGENT FEE AGREEMENT
There are a number of advantages to a contingent fee agreement. In a contingent fee case, the lawyer and the client both do well financially if the client recovers a larger award; the lawyer's interests and the client's interests are aligned. The client and the lawyer want the same thing - a speedy resolution of the case that maximizes the recovery. There are some other big advantages to a contingent fee agreement: the client doesn't pay any money upfront, which can be important; if you have a lot of expenses after your accident; and you do not pay any legal fees if there is no recovery.
MORE WORK UP FRONT FOR THE LAWYER
A contingent fee agreement does, however, require more work on the part of the lawyer before accepting a case. If a case is going to be billed hourly, a lawyer can take the case without worrying about whether the case has merit (or without worrying as much; no lawyer wants to lose a case). In a contingent fee case, on the other hand, the lawyer is doing something close to going into business with his client. The lawyer is investing his time, energy, and money (remember those court costs) into a case. That lawyer wants to make sure that he knows the case is a prudent investment.
by: Matt Kaiser
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