Lawyers are expensive. No doubt about it. If you get a DUI, it will cost thousands of dollars — and the penalties can be stiff. Going through a divorce? Depletion of the marital assets can be significant.
Now that I’ve thoroughly depressed you, how can you economically pursue your rights? One way is through a lawyer who works on a “contingency fee” arrangement.
So, what is a contingency? When is such an arrangement appropriate? What are the benefits? First, a contingency fee is one that is contingent on the outcome of a matter. Rather than paying a lawyer on an hourly basis, or some kind of flat fee, this arrangement allows a lawyer to receive a percentage of a recovery.
Accordingly, if the lawyer is successful in securing a settlement or a recovery through trial, the lawyer receives part of the money as his fee. As a general rule, if he does not recover anything for the client, he gets no fee. This fee arrangement can be extremely beneficial in a number of circumstances.
As you may already know, there are tremendous risks in litigation. In a trial, there is always a winner and a loser. Thus, a contingency fee can be a great tool for a client to pursue claims without risking a great deal of his money to do so. In a contingency arrangement, the lawyer assumes the risk and essentially partners with his client so they both have something to gain from a positive outcome.
So when does an arrangement like this work? Typically, when a claimant (or potential plaintiff in a lawsuit) has an affirmative monetary claim. In other words, a defendant in a lawsuit cannot hire a lawyer to defend him on a contingency basis because there is no potential recovery to split.
Likewise, criminal matters and most business matters are not suitable unless there is a business dispute that involves claims where the claimant can recover money. It is important to note that lawsuits can be extremely expensive and a lawyer who will work on a contingency fee can be an invaluable asset in the proper circumstance.
Although lawsuits can be emotionally taxing, having a lawyer whom one trusts working on a contingency basis allows for a mostly risk-free means to pursue a recovery.
