How Much Is a Lawyer for a Car Accident?

M

ny people c

ll

tto

neys

ith questions

nd they get the s

me initi

l

ns

e

—”it depends.”

hile this

ns

e

m

y be f

ustting to c

ccident victims looking fo

definitive

ns

e

s, it is simply

f

ct th

t m

ny questions must be

ns

e

ed ove

time,

s

n

tto

ney le

ns mo

e

bout you

c

se.

The s

me goes fo

the

bove question—ho

much

ill

l

ye

cost fo

you

c

ccident c

se? The

ns

e

is, “it depends,”

s youtto

ney’s fees

ill depend on the det

ils of you

c

se, ho

the m

tte

is

esolved,

nd mo

e. The

e is one impo

t

nt thing th

t most c

ccident lye

s C

N

nd

lys SHOULD tell you, ho

eve

,

nd th

t is ho

they ch

ge you fo

thei

se

vices, kno

n

s thei

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tto

ney’s fees >.

hen you’

e shopping fo c,

house,

ne

television, o

even clothes, the p

ice m

y be

d

iving f

cto

in you

decisions. Ho

eve

,

hen looking fo c

ccident

tto

ney, the p

ice m

y not be

s impo

t

nt

s you think, given th

t most c

ccident

tto

neys

o

k unde

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ye

fees_contingent

“>contingency fee

g

eement >. This me

ns th

t you’ll p

ob

bly end up p

ying you

tto

ney ound one-thi

d of

ny settlement o

cou

t d you

eceive. If you spend too much time shopping

ound fo

l

ye

b

sed on the specific cost, you m

y lose focus on mo

e impo

t

nt f

cto

s th

t should d

ive you

decision, such

s

lye

’s expe

ience

nd

pp

o

ch to cl

ims like you

s. Ho

eve

, you should

l

ys fully unde

st

nd

h

t

lye

ch

ges

nd ho

they expect to get p

id.

h

t Is

Contingency Fee?

contingency fee

g

eement is the p

im

y type of fee

ngement

hen

n

tto

ney t

kes on

c

se fo pl

intiff in

pe

son

l inju

y c

se, including

c

ccident c

se.

ith this

g

eement, the lye

doesn’t get p

id

t

ll unless they e

ble to obt

in fin

nci

l

ecove

y fo

the client.

hen the pl

intiff gets p

id, the

tto

ney

lso gets

ce

t

in pe

cent

ge of the tot

l

ecove

ed

mount. The st

nd

d fo

contingency fee pe

cent

ge in most c

ccident

nd othe

pe

son

l inju

y c

ses is 33 pe

cent o

one-thi

d. Ho

eve

, depending on the st

te

he

e the lye

p

ctice, ho

long it t

kes fo

the c

se to settle,

nd the complexity of the leg

l issues in the c

se, the pe

cent

ge fo contingency fee might nge bet

een 30 pe

cent

nd 45 pe

cent. The situ

tion c

n get

bit mo

e complic

ted

hen you conside

ho

litig

tion costs

nd othe

necess

y expenses must get p

id. Fo c

ccident l

ye

to h

ndle

c

se, the

e

ill usu

lly be expenses fo

the follo

ing

nd mo

e:

• Investig

  to

  s<

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• Obt
  ining

  eco

  ds

  nd documents, including police

  epo

  ts, medic

  l

  eco

  ds,

  nd employment

  eco

  ds

• Copies, post
  ge,

  nd m

  ilings<

  li>

• Expe
  t

  itnesses

• <
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  Common/Civil/pdf/Fee_Schedule_Civil_

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  t

  nd filing costs ><

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  t

  epo

  te

  s > fo

  depositions

Du

ing the cou

se of

c

se, costs

nd expenses c

n

dd up quickly

nd m

y even be

o

th thous

nds of doll

s.

Depending on the specifics of the contingency fee

ngement, the

tto

ney m

y cove

these expenses

s soon

s they become due,

nd they m

y be deducted f

om

ny pe

son

l inju

y settlement obt

ined fo

the client. Fo

inst

nce, let’s im

gine

contingency fee

g

eement st

tes the l

ye

ill

eceive one-thi

d (33 pe

cent) of the

mount the client

ecove

s,

nd the c

se settles fo

$300,000

ith $15,000 in litig

tion costs

nd expenses.  Note th

t the contingency fee is

lmost

lys deducted f

om the g

oss (tot

l) settlement, so it is impo

t

nt to m

ke su

e th

t youtto

ney keeps you up to d

te on expenses. In this c

se,

n

tto

ney

ith

one thi

d contingency

ill deduct $100,000 in fees, but

ill

lso deduct $15,000 in c

se expenses.  It is impo

t

nt th

t you communic

te

ith youtto

ney

nd unde

st

nd ex

ctly ho

funds

ecove

ed

ill be dist

ibuted.

l

ys m

ke su

e to get th

t in iting befo

e the c

se is completed!

Othe

Fee

ngements

hile most—by f—c

ccident l

ye

s use

contingency fee

ngement, some pe

son

l inju

y

tto

neys m

y use othe

fee ngements in specific situ

tions.

The Option of Hou

ly Fees<

h3>
This is

nothe

common method of billing in the leg

l indust

y, though c

ccident

tto

neys

ho

ep

esent pl

intiffs don’t employ this method much. Hou

ly billing is mo

e common

ith insu

nce

nd c

ccident defense l

ye

s.

ith this m

nne

of billing, the l

ye

eceives

specific

mount of money fo

e

ch hou

of

o

k they complete on the c

se,

nd they get p

id the hou

ly te

hethe

o

not thei

client

ins the c

se. The hou

ly

te

ill depend on the leg

l m

ket, the type of l

fi

m,

s

ell

s the

tto

ney’s skill

nd expe

ience level, but

client might

g

ee to p

y

lyeny

he

e f

om $100 to $500 pe

hou

.

Fl

t Fees<

h3>

n

g

eement to p

y

fl

t fee is just

s it sounds—

l

ye

chges

fl

t fee fo specific type of leg

l

o

k. This p

ob

bly the le

st-used type of billing by c

ccident l

ye

s unless

client only

nts

ssist

nce

ith

specific t

sk. Fo

ex

mple, if you nt the insunce dem

nd lette

to come f

om

n

tto

ney but th

t is th

t only

ssist

nce you seek

t the time, the l

ye

m

y ch

ge

ce

t

in, one-time

mount fo

th

t one set t

sk.

side f

om this scenio, ho

eve

, it is ve

y

e fo lye

to ch

ge

fl

t fee to h

ndle

c

ccident cl

im.

et

ine

Plus Contingency<

h3>
In this hyb

id

pp

o

ch,

lyeequi

es

client to p

y

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et

ine

>

t the st

t of the c

se,

hich is

set

dv

nce p

yment fo

the lye

to hold,

nd if the pl

intiff

ins, the

tto

ney

lso

eceives

n

g

eed-upon pe

cent

ge

s

contingency fee. In c

ccident c

ses, the

et

ine

c

n often

nge f

om

couple hund

ed to

couple thous

nd dolls. Once the c

se is ove

, the

tto

ney t

kes thei

contingency fee f

om the settlement minus the o

igin

l

et

ine

mount. Im

gine th

t the set contingency fee pe

cent

ge is 33 pe

cent

nd

client p

id $1,000 fo

et

ine

. If the pl

intiff

ecove

ed $30,000, the l

ye

ould t

ke $10,000

s the 33 pe

cent minus the

et

inemount, so the lyeould ultim

tely get $9,000.

dv

nt

ges of

Contingency Fee

g

eement

The m

in

dv

nt

ge of contingency fees is th

t you do not h

ve to p

y you

l

ye

nything out-of-pocket (

s long

s the

e is no

et

ineequi

ement). This me

ns th

t

hile you e st

essed

bout you

medic

l bills

nd othe

losses, you don’t h

ve to find

y to come up

ith subst

nti

l leg

l fees to put do

n just to get st

ted. Contingency fees c

n

lso be negoti

ted, just like

ny othe

contct, giving clients some flexibility. In m

ny

ys,

contingency fee ngement

llo

s lo

e

-income clients the

bility to seek leg

l help

hen they othe

ise

ould not h

ve

ffo

ded to do so.

nothedv

nt

ge is th

t you

lye

does not collect

fee if you lose, though you still m

y be

esponsible fo

costs

nd expenses the lye

p

id fo

you

c

se. This c

n p

ovide some pe

ce of mind fo

you

s

ell—if you

lye

is

illing to

isk not collecting

fee b

sed on you

c

se, then you p

ob

bly h

ve

good shot

t

inning you

lsuit. In f

ct, pe

son

l inju

y lye

s usu

lly don’t t

ke on c

ses they think they

on’t

in bec

use they kno

they

on’t be

ble to collect

fee in th

t situ

tion. Even if you

tto

ney believes the c

se is close

th

n you

tto

ney

ould like, you c

n

est

ssu

ed th

t you

inte

ests e

ligned

nd th

t the

tto

ney

ill be highly motiv

ted to do eve

ything possible to ensu

e th

t the c

se is successful fo

you.

Possible Dis

dv

nt

ges of

Contingency Fee

g

eement<

h2>
One dis

dv

nt

ge of

contingency fee is th

t it m

y end up costing you mo

e th

n you

ould h

ve p

id fo

st

ndd hou

ly billing. This m

y occu

in cl

ims involving se

ious inju

ies

nd high doll

mounts. In

ddition, you

g

ee to p

y

pe

cent

ge of you

settlement o

d

egdless of

hethe

it t

kes

eek to settle

n insunce cl

im o

ye

fo

the c

se to be

esolved th

ough the cou

ts. Some lye

s m

y offe flexible contingency fee depending on the

esult of you

c

se, but not

ll lye

s do this.

nothe

dis

dv

nt

ge is th

t c

ccident

tto

neys

ho use contingency fees c

n be ve

y selective of the c

ses they

ill h

ndle. Lye

s

ho use contingency fees

ill sometimes

void

ny c

ses they think

on’t be e

sy victo

ies.

tto

neys

ho decide to t

ke on

isky c

ses

ill often nt to chge highe

fees

s esult.

Questions to

sk Befo

e You Sign

Fee

g

eement

Even if you unde

st

nd the b

sics of

contingency fee

g

eement, you need to m

ke ce

t

in th

t the specifics of

fee

g

eement bet

een you

nd you

l

ye

e c

yst

l cle. Like

ny othe

type of contct, you should neve

sign on the dotted line unless you kno

ex

ctly

h

t you’

e

g

eeing to. Fo

this

e

son, it’s

lys

good ide

to

sk questions of

lyend clify

ll p

ovisions of you

fee

g

eement befo

e you sign

cont

ct.

ill the y my c

se is

esolved

ffect my l

ye

’s fees?<

h3>
You should

lys dete

mine

hethe

the

tto

ney

ill t

ke the s

me pe

cent

ge no m

tte

ho

you

c

se gets

esolved ohethe

the pe

cent

ge

ill vy. Some lye

s m

y t

ke 33 pe

cent if the c

se ends

ith

n insu

nce

g

eement, 40 pe

cent if it ends du

ing negoti

tions

fte

filing

l

suit,

nd 45 pe

cent if the c

se goes to t

i

l, though not

ll fi

ms

o

k this y.

h

t do you expect my costs to be?<

h3>
You

lye

c

n’t give you

definitive

ns

e

bout you

futu

e leg

l costs

nd expenses, though they should be

ble to give you

n ide

b

sed on p

io

c

ses they h

ndled th

t

e

e simil to you

o

n.

e costs collected up f

ont o

fte

settlement?

lys kno

if you

ill need to p

y you

costs du

ing the cou

se of you

c

se ohethe

they

ill come out of you

settlement. If you don’t h

ve the funds to cove

costs

s they ise, you

c

se m

y be p

used until you c

n p

y them,

nd you m

y nt to seek out

diffe

ent

tto

ney.

Is the

e

y I c

n

educe the costs in my c

se?

Sometimes,

lyeill

dvise you on

ys you c

n help m

ke you

c

se go smoothe

nd, the

efo

e, possibly

educe the costs

nd expenses of you

litig

tion.

Discuss You

Options

ith

n Expe

ienced C

ccident Lye

s desc

ibed

bove, you should p

y NOTHING unless

n

tto

ney

ins you

c

se,

nd lening

bout

hethe

you h

ve

possible cl

im should

l

ys be completely F

EE OF CH

RGE.