Contingency fee CHECKLIST- Stewart J. Guss, Attorney At Law

e
d On Fo
Contingency Fee Checklist<
h2>
ss=”
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ight” s
c="https:
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lt="
tto
ney Costs"
idth=”401″ height=”267″ />It’s
s
d situ
tion
e he
ll the time: someone gets hu
t in
n
ccident, but they hesit
te to cont
ct
lye
bec
use they’
e
fid of the costs.
ith medic
l bills fo
thei
inju
y piling up
nd missed p
ychecks f
om time t
ken off
o
k, they’
e
o

ied they c
n’t
ffo
d to hi
e
lye
.

The t
uth is they don’t need to
o

y
t
ll. Expe
ienced, skilled pe
son
l inju
y l

ye
s
lmost
lys
o
k “on contingency,”
hich me
ns they chge nothing up f
ont. Inste
d they only get p
id
pe
cent
ge of the money they
ecove
fo
thei
client
hen the c
se closes.
h
t is the st
nd

d contingency fee th
t
l

ye
gets p
id? The
e isn’t one,
e
lly. Fees vy depending on the
g
eement bet
een the client
nd the pe
son
l inju
y l

ye
,
nd the
mount of money the lye
obt
ins fo
the client.

Let’s t
ke
look
t ho typic
l contingency fee

ngement
o
ks.

The Th
ee B
sic Types of Leg
l Fees<
h2>

ong>Hou
ly ong>: Most lye
s ch

ge thei
clients fees in one of th
ee b
sic ys. The tdition
l method is hou
ly fee billing,
hich is just
h
t it sounds like. L

ye
s set
te – usu
lly hund
eds of doll

s pe
hou
–
nd chge clients b
sed on the
mount of
o
k they do,
eg

dless of ho

leg
l m
tte
tu
ns out. It’s no su
p
ise th
t clients do not like this billing method,
s it often me
ns sting money on unce
t
inties o
even unf
voble
esults. Pe
son
l inju
y lye
s don’t gene

lly ch

ge hou
ly tes.<
li>

ong>Fl
t fee ong>: The second method is fl
t fee billing,
hich clients tend to like mo
e th
n hou
ly billing bec
use it c
ps thei
expenses. Lye
s, ho
eve
, only offe
fl
t-fee billing
hen they c
n confidently p
edict the
mount of
o
k
leg
l t
sk
ill
equi
e. They do not

nt to get c
ught by su
p
ise
nd end up stuck doing mo
e
o
k th
n
c
se is
o
th. Th
t’s
hy only l

ye
s
ho t
ke
high volume of the s
me type of c
se o
leg
l t
sk offe
fl
t-fee billing, such
s fo
filing stightfod divo
ce p
peo
k, p
eping
ills,
ep
esenting people in simple one-off c
imin
l m
tte
s,
nd simil types of “cookie-cutte
” leg
l jobs. Pe
son
l inju
y
tto
neys don’t usu
lly
o
k on
fl
t fee, eithe
.

ong>Contingency fees<
st
ong>: Fin
lly, the
e is contingency fee
o
k. This method of p
yment is f
vo
ed by ne

ly
ll pe
son
l inju
y l

ye
s, including ou
s. The l

ye
gets p
id nothing up-f
ont,
nd inste
d
o
ks fon
g
eed pe
cent
ge of the money the lye
’s effo
ts obt
in fo
the client. The mo
e money the client gets, the mo
e the <
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.com
ho
-much-does-lye
-cost/”>L

ye
costs<>,
nd eve
yone is s
tisfied.

Ho
Contingency Fees
o
k in Pe
son
l Inju
y C
ses<
h2>
t the ve
y beginning of thei

el
tionship,
n inju
ed client
nd the pe
son
l inju
y
tto
ney they hi
e
ill ente
into
n
g
eement. The
g
eement
ill l
y out the scope of the
o
k the lyeill do fo
the client,
nd ho
the l

ye

ill get p
id. This
g
eement c
n h
ve vious n
mes, including
fee
g
eement,
leg
l se
vices
g
eement, o
etention
g
eement.
eg

dless of
h
t the l

ye

nd client c
ll it, one of the most impo
t
nt pts of this
g
eement is its desc
iption of the l

ye
’s contingency fee. The typic
l
g
eement on
lye
’s contingency fee h
s t
o p

ts:

The pe
cent
ge of
ny fin
nci
l
ecove
y the lyeill en.<
li>

Ho
the lyend client
g
ee to de
l
ith c
se expenses.

The L

ye
’s Pe
cent
ge<
h3>
The simplest contingency fee
g
eements set
fixed pe
cent
ge the lyeill
eceive f
om
ny fin
nci
l
ecove
y
t the conclusion of the c
se.

L

ye
s
nd clients c
n negoti
te th
t pe
cent
ge. Often, the
g
eement
ill set
sliding sc
le of pe
cent
ges b
sed on the
mount of money the l

ye
obt
ins,
nd
o
the
mount of time o
effo
t the c
se t
kes. Fo
ex
mple,
lyend client might
g
ee th
t the l

ye

eceives
ce
t
in pe
cent
ge of
ny
ecove
y up to
ce
t
in doll
mount,
nd then
diffe
ent pe
cent
ge of
ny
mount
bove th
t. O
, the l

ye

nd client might
g
ee the l

ye
gets
specified pe
cent
ge if the c
se settles quickly,
nd
diffe
ent

te if the c
se goes to t
i
l. O
they could
g
ee on some combin
tion of these options.
h
t this
ll boils do
n to is you should feel f
ee to discuss pe
cent
ges
hen you hi
e
pe
son
l inju
y
tto
ney to
ep
esent you. Contingency fee
g
eements do not h
ve to be one-size-fits-
ll. They c
n,
nd often should, get c
e
tive to
dd
ess
client’s
nd l

ye
’s specific needs
nd go
ls in
c
se.

C
se Expenses

ong>Lye

s ong>, like

nyone in business, h

unning costs. Some of those costs

esent ove

d (like office

ent, utilities,

nd st

ff s

ies),

hile othe

ise in connection

ith

ticul

se (like cou

t filing fees, t

vel expenses,

nd p

ying expe

nd investig

s).

ong>Lye

s ong> cove

thei

ove

d on thei

n. Ho

eve

typic

l contingency fee

eement

ill

lmost

ess c

se-

ted costs in one y onothe

. In some

eements, the client

ees to p

y the out-of-pocket expenses fo

the c

se. C

se expenses c

n nge f

om hund

eds of dolls

t the lo

end to tens of thous

nds of doll

s (o

t the top-end, so if you

ee to p

y c

se expenses, be su

e to

sk the lye

llpk estim

te fi

st. Expe

itness expenses, in pticul, c

n get p

icey. In othe

situ

tions, the lye

ee to p

y fo

se expenses. Unde

ngement, the fee

eement

ill typic

lly

ess if, ho

hen those expenses get

eimbu

sed

hen the c

se is eventu

lly settled. Some l

s might t

t simple expenses (like tvel

nd filing fees)

s ove

nd not seek to

ecoup them

ll. O

, the l

nd client might

ee th

t the lye

gets

eimbu

sed fo

those expenses out of

ecove

y in

ddition to the lye

’s contingency fee. This model is common, fo

inst

nce, in c

ses th

t involve hi

ing the se

vices of expensive expe

itnesses.

Eithe

y, you should

ys p

ttention to ho

the fee

eement p

oposes to de

ith c

se expenses. Insist th

t you

eement expl

ins things cle

ly. In simple

ses, c

se expenses might not m

tte

much to the bottom line, but in some m

tte

s they c

lly

dd up.

hy Do Pe
son
l Inju
y Lye
s
o
k on Contingency?

You might

ondehy lye

ould

k fon unce

in fee,

hen they could just ch

ge by the hou

nd get p

id no m

tte

ho c

se tu

ns out. T

ds expl

hy:

ccess

nd incentives.

It Gives Clients
ccess to Top-Qu
lity Leg
l
ep
esent
tion They Could Neve
Otheise
ffo
d<
h3>
Pe
son
l inju
ies c
n h
ppen to
nyone,
ny
he
e,
t
ny time. No one c
n
e
lly p
epe to get into
m
ssive c
ccident, o
to h
ve sc
ffolding coll
pse onto them on
job site, o
to t
ke
n
sty spill on
et tile
t the g
oce
y sto
e. Those incidents just h
ppen,
nd they le
ve m
ny people st
uggling physic
lly, emotion
lly,
nd fin
nci
lly. Pe
son
l inju
y lye
s dedic
te thei
c

ee
s to helping these victims.
hen
pe
son h
s suffe
ed
n unexpected inju
y bec
use of someone else’s d
nge
ous
ctions, they dese
ve help
nd guid
nce. Lye
s fo
inju
ed people h
ve to t
ke them
s they come. It’s
ll
ell-
nd-good fo

nothe
lye
to set
te of $500
hou
, but
hen someone h
s just unde
gone multiple b
ck su
ge
ies, lives in ch
onic p
in,
nd h
sn’t been
ble to
o
k fo
months, th
t p
ice is e
l tu
n-off.
nd th
t lye
is unlikely to get hi
ed. Most people
ho get b
dly hu
t in
p
event
ble
ccident c
used by someone else simply c
nnot
ffo
d to p
y
l

ye

ight no
, even though they despetely need leg
l
ep
esent
tion. Pe
son
l inju
y l

ye
s solve th
t p
oblem by
o
king on contingency. The inju
ed client gets
ccess to
top-qu
lity lyeithout the fin
nci
l bu
den of p
ying money up-f
ont o

eceiving huge hou
ly bills. This is
hy p
tience
nd diligence

e key
tt
ibutes fo
lye
s in successful inju
y cl
im settlements. Fo
us, inst
nt g

tific
tion is not the n
me of the g
me.

It Gives Lye
s the
ight Incentives to Obt
in Top-Doll
esults<
h3>
Su
e,
o
king on contingency comes
ith plenty of
isks... fo
the l

ye
. If
n
tto
ney
o
king fo

contingency fee does not delive

esults
nd put money in thei
client’s h
nds, they end up
ith nothing to sho
fo
thei
effo
ts.

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lign
ight”>ss=”
p-im
ge-28041″ title=”Pe
son
l Inju
y
tto
ney, Ste
t J. Guss” s
c="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.comp-content
uplo
ds
2019/08/c

–
ccident-lye
-300×295.jpg”
lt="Ste
t J. Guss”
idth="250" height="247"
> ption id="c
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ss="
p-c
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h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.com
ou
-te
m/ste
t-guss
“>Ste
t J. Guss<>, Pe
son
l Inju
y
tto
ney ption><
figu
e> On the flip side, t
king th
t
isk gives l

ye
s
st
ong incentive to
in
s big
s possible.
ftell, the mo
e money thei

o
k delive
s fo

client, the mo
e money the lye
e

ns.
s pe
son
l inju
y l

ye
s,
e’ve found contingency fees
o
k out
ell, bec
use they put us in the s
me bo
t
s ou
clients. Unlike some l

ye
s
ho just

nt
client
ho c
n p
y on time, even if the c
se does not tu
n out in thei
f
vo
,
e st
ive fo
the
esult th
t benefits ou
clients the most, bec
use it benefits us the most, too.
ddition
lly,
hile lye
s
ho bill by the hou
e

n mo
e money the longe
things d

g out (
hich clients h
te),
e h
ve the s
me inte
est
s ou
clients in seeing
c
se come to its best possible
esolution
s quickly
nd efficiently
s possible.

Pe
son
l inju
y lye
s
o
k on contingency bec
use it
e
lly is best fo
ou
clients
nd fo
us. You’
e mo
e th
n just
c
se numbe
to us. Ou
go
ls
lign
ith you
go
ls,
nd you
victo
y is ou
victo
y.

Contingency Fee Checklist

ight, let’s put the info

bove into pctice. S

y you’ve suffe

d inju

y bec

use someone else m

eckless decision, o

ybe

ccident h

ppened

nd you c

n’t quite tell

ho is to bl

me, but you kno

sn’t you. These situ

tions e

hen you should t

lk to

son

l inju

y lyeho

ill

k fo

you on contingency! So, ho

do you get st

ted,

t should you do

long the

y? He

e’s

quick checklist:

Se

ch online fo

l

ye

ho h
ndles pe
son
l inju
y c
ses exclusively,
nd h
s
ep
esented people fo
the specific kind of inju
y you suffe
ed in the specific kind of
ccident o
incident th
t hmed you.<
li>
e
ch out fo

f
ee consult
tion (ve
ify the
e is not
<
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.com
l

ye
-consult
tion-fee/”>consult
tion fee<>)to get
n opinion on the st
ength of you
c
se. M
ny consult
tions c
n be conducted vi
phone o
video ch
t, if you p
efe
.<
li>
Du
ing the consult
tion, confi
m they h
ve expe
ience
ith you
type of
ccident
nd inju
y,
nd h
ve delive
ed
esults fo
clients like you in the
ecent p
st th
ough both settlements
nd ju
y t
i
ls.
Pick the l

ye

ho seems best equipped to h
ndle you
c
se, to communic
te
ith you clely
nd in l
ngu
ge you unde
st
nd,
nd
ho just feels like the
ight fit.<
li>
hen the lye
gives you the p
oposed fee
g
eement,
e
d it. (It should be itten in pl
in English, no “leg
lese!”)<
li>
evie
the l

ye
’s pe
cent
ge
nd ho
the lye
p
oposes to h
ndle expenses c

efully.
Don’t hesit
te to
sk the l

ye
to
evise o
negoti
te the pe
cent
ge o
expenses
ith you. T
lk to the lyebout you
go
ls fo c
se,
nd ho
ch
nging the fee te
ms might help you
chieve them.<
li>
Only
fte
you
nd the lye
h
ve
cle

,

itten unde
st
nding on fees, sign the
g
eement
nd let the lye
get to
o
k fo
you...
ithout h
ving spent
ny money upf
ont!<
li>
You
lyeill p
ob
bly still send you pe
iodic st
tements
evie
ing the p
og
ess of you
c
se, the
o
k done,
nd the expenses in the c
se. This is not
“bill” (unless you h
ve
g
eed to p
y c
se expenses), but you should still
e
d it bec
use it
ill give you
n ide
of the type of
o
k the lye
h
s done on you
beh
lf
ithout you h
ving spent
dime!
If the l

ye
’s effo
ts
esult in monety ds, expect to
eceive you
she
fte
the lye
deducts thei
pe
cent
ge
nd
ny expenses you
g
eed on.
evie
the lye
’s c
lcul
tions to confi
m they’
e
ight.<
li>

bove

ll else,

emembe

s the client of

son

l inju

y lye

, you h

ve the

ight to expect cle

, st

ightfo

d, t

nsp

ent info

tion

bout

ll l

’s fees. No inju

ed client should eve

feel confused

bout ho

thei

ens money. If you feel unce

bout

nything

ny point,

sk you

lye

to expl

in. By

king on contingency, the lye

nts the s

esult

s you do. Neve

feel

fid to

sk questions. Kno

youights

nd p

otect you

inte

ests. So,

t e you iting fo

? <

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

cont

ct-us

“>Cont

ct<>

n expe

ienced pe

son

l inju

y l

ho c

k fo

you on contingency. The soone

gets stted

esenting you, the bette

you

nces of obt

ining top-doll fo

you

son

l inju

y claim.

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son
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o
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son
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o
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