What Are Contingency Fee Agreements?

The Florida Law Group proudly offers all of our legal services to our clients on a contingency-fee basis, but many accident victims are unaware what exactly that means or why that is a good thing for their case.

Not every personal injury lawyer structures their payment agreements like this, but many do – it is often advantageous for the client and it also can be a sign of how confident the personal injury attorney in question is in their ability to recover damages!

So what exactly are contingency fee agreements?

Contingency fee arrangements signify that your lawyer only gets paid if they win monetary compensation in your case. If they do win your case and you are awarded a settlement, a fixed percentage (usually one-third) of the settlement amount will be taken by the lawyer as payment for successful litigation. If you lose the case, you will not be required to pay your attorney any money for the work they did on your behalf.

The percentage of your settlement that will go to your attorney may vary depending on the complexity of your case. The more challenging or risky the case is, the higher the percentage of the recovery will be (40%, for example). If it is a straightforward case, your percentage could be lower (perhaps 20-25%).

However, whether or not your lawyer wins your case, you may still need to pay for fees associated with personal injury lawsuits like court filing fees, expert witness fees, discovery costs, cost to obtain evidence, etc. This money will not go to your lawyer, but is directly associated with the cost of the case itself. Legalities simply cost money!

Depending on the specifics of your case, though, it may be a lot cheaper for you to pay a contingency fee than to pay an hourly fee or a retainer fee – and it takes the risk out of litigation for you. If you pay a lawyer a retainer or hourly fee, there is a chance that you could still lose the case and recover nothing (and you may still have to pay for filing fees, expert witnesses, etc.), but if you pay by contingency, you are not risking any of the money that you currently have. The entire amount that you would pay your lawyer comes out of the settlement you stand to win!

Contingency fee arrangements are most often used in civil cases (like accident cases, sexual harassment cases, malpractice cases, workplace discrimination cases, class action lawsuits, and debt collections cases, for example).

Working with a law firm who will take your case on a contingency fee basis, like The Florida Law Group, has two primary benefits.

You can rest assured that your lawyer is motivated to do their very best on your behalf, because if they do not recover damages, they do not get paid, and the larger the settlement they recover, the more they receive.

You will not be required to pay fees upfront. Many injured accident victims are already paying hefty medical fees, so this helps them because they are not stuck with huge legal bills on top of that while their case is still pending. Lower income individuals have better access to quality representation through contingency fee agreements because they do not have to pay large sums of money if someone else’s negligence caused their injuries.

If you believe that you have a solid claim for compensation, but you think that pursuing a settlement may be too expensive for you, a contingency fee arrangement could be the perfect solution.

At The Florida Law Group, we will never settle for less than what you deserve, and we advocate for justice in the form of full, maximum compensation. We also believe that everyone should have access to great representation! That is why we have offices in the Greater Tampa Bay Area, Orlando, and Miami, and why we are proud to work on a contingency fee basis with all of our clients.

The specifics of your contingency fee arrangement may vary depending on your case, but we would love to offer you a free case evaluation to discuss your legal & financial options! Contact us today to schedule an appointment (virtual consultations available).