Contingent Fee Agreement Lawyers
What is a Contigency Fee?

Since 1978, the experienced attorneys at Bisnar & Chase have been representing a variety of clients, including business owners, and providing them with accurate legal advice and representation. If your company is in need of legal assistance in any area relating to your company, please contact one of our skilled California contingent fee attorneys to find out how we can help you. We provide excellent legal services on a contingency fee basis, without the burden of expensive hourly fees. Call today for a free consultation.

Contingent fee is named as such, because the fee that the attorney will receive is contingent (dependant) upon the outcome of the case. Rather than billing a client an hourly fee, the lawyer and client agree upon a set amount, typically a certain percentage of the recovery, which the attorney will receive upon winning the case. Therefore, there are no legal fees if the lawyer does not win the case, and the plaintiff pays nothing.

For many individuals and businesses, a contingency fee plan is the only feasible option that they can consider, as the hourly fee of most attorneys is much too expensive, with many attorneys charging hundreds of dollars per hour. Although hourly fees will not be incurred under a contingency arrangement, there may be some expenses that the clients may have to pay, and in many cases the payment of those expenses will be taken out of the attorneys fee after a successful case outcome.

It is extremely important that a written contingency fee agreement be made, and that the client thoroughly understands the terms of the agreement. According to Opinion 389 a lawyer is obligated to inform his or her client as to any other billing arrangement that will occur. Some factors that a personal injury lawyer may consider when deciding up the percentage they will obtain if and when the case settles may include:

• The amount of monetary compensation which may be recovered
• The amount of punitive damages, if any
• The length and amount of time that will be involved in the case
• The probability of a successful case outcome

When an attorney is working for a contingency fee, he or she is likely to be very motivated to recover the maximum monetary compensation for the client, because it will determine the amount of money that they themselves recover. It is unethical for a lawyer who is working on a contingency fee to change the agreement without consulting the client first. If the attorney does discuss changing the amount, the client may seek the advice of an independent attorney to discuss the situation.