What is a Contingency Fee?

Personal Injury - February 2, 2015

 

What is a Contingency Fee?

When a person is injured and considering hiring an attorney, they often question whether or not they can afford legal representation, and ask, “Do I need to pay an attorney up front?”
In many cases, the injured person will try (often unsuccessfully) to manage their own circumstances because they believe they cannot afford representation.
In cases of personal injury, most experienced and reputable firms offer what’s called a Contingency Fee contract to eliminate any financial concerns about attorney fees and other costs up front.

How Does A Contingency Fee Work?

Often described as “No win, No Fee” contract, a Contingency Fee agreement between an attorney or law firm and a client means:

  • There are no upfront fees (often called a ‘retainer fee’) required by the client, or other ongoing expenses necessary to prosecute (or settle) the case.
  • The law firm agrees to accept full financial responsibility for all charges associated with the case, including, but not limited to court costs, investigators, discovery documentation, and hiring of expert witnesses necessary to prosecute the case.
  • The law firm is only entitled to receive attorney fees and costs associated with litigation of the case if they are successful and win a monetary award for the client.

Simply Put …
In plain English, this means that a personal injury client pays nothing up front, and ONLY pays attorney fees and other costs IF the attorney wins the case.
The attorney/law firm covers all costs associated with the case and if they lose the case, the client pays nothing …zero …nada.
An initial consultation with an attorney, which is also free with Chicago Personal Injury Lawyers at Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, offers the potential client an opportunity to assess the firm’s experience and his/her comfort level with the lawyer who would be managing their case. It also provides the attorney an opportunity to gather initial facts surrounding the case so that they can determine if the case is worthy of taking on its merits, or to decline it.
Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates invites you for a free telephone or in person consultation to discuss your accident and any questions you may have. You can also email us or even speak with us right now on LiveChat. Even if you do not wish to retain an attorney, we can set you on the right path for free. Most of our lawyers have more than 30 years of experience and we have an outstanding track record in helping our clients and creating a strong trust relationship, as you can see in our Success Records. Please call our Chicago office at (312) 372-8822, or our Joliet office at (815) 723-8822, or you can call our toll free number at (800)-985-1819.