Useful Terminology

Terminology

CONTINGENT FEE:

When an insurance company or major corporation wants to hire an attorney to pursue their interests, they usually have the financial resources to pay their attorneys on an hourly basis.

But justice is not only for the wealthy.  When the average person is injured due to the negligence of another, they may well not have the financial resources to hire an attorney on an hourly basis.  That does not mean that they should be denied access to the courts or access to justice.

At the Law Offices of Paine, Kilpatrick, Coleman & Mahoney, P.C., most of our clients chose to hire us on the basis of a "contingent fee."  Under a contingent fee, the client pays no money up front.  Instead, it is agreed that the attorney will be paid out of the final settlement or recovery, and that the attorney fee will be a set percentage of the final recovery. 

In most cases, it will be agreed that the attorney fee will be 1/3 of the final recovery.

Under a contingent fee arrangement, in the event that there is no recovery or settlement, the client would not owe any attorney fee.