What Is a Contingency Fee?

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 ... FULL ARTICLE HERE