If you’ve been hurt in any kind of accident, you likely already have numerous bills that you can’t pay. This probably includes lots of medical bills, but you might also be late on the rent, your credit card payments, your utility bills, and more. In this situation, why would you agree to take on more expenses?
That’s the rationale behind the contingency fee setup. When you work with a contingency lawyer they will charge you no fee unless they win your case, which is why this arrangement is frequently called “No win, no fee.” This means that you won’t get any bills for lawyer’s fees unless they win you money to pay the fees and your other bills as well. In addition, we offer you a free initial consultation – you can get your questions answered without paying any fees.
What Does No Win, No Fee Mean?
“No win, no fee,” is a simple way to describe a contingency fee arrangement that many lawyers offer. In this arrangement, you don’t have to pay a fee to your lawyers until and unless they win your case. Essentially, instead of getting paid by you, they will be paid by the person or organization you are suing for your injuries (or their insurance company).
However, this might not mean that you won’t pay anything if you hire a lawyer, and they lose your case. You might be responsible for expenses the lawyer incurred in trying to win your case. You may also have expenses that you personally incurred over the course of the lawsuit, such as additional doctors’ visits.
We explain more about these different types of costs below, but sometimes it’s easier to just ask us. Your initial call is always 100% free and you are never obligated to work with us if you call.
Our Guarantee to You
When you work with Fisher & Talwar for representation in a personal injury lawsuit, you will always enjoy the benefit of a contingency arrangement. We go above and beyond this, though, as we waive fees and costs associated with your case.
This means:
- Free, confidential, no obligation consultation: We answer your initial questions for free.There will be no surprise bills in the mail, even if you decide to work with another lawyer.
- No up – front costs: We will start working on your case right away with no deposit, retainer, or down payment.
- No win, no fee: You only pay when you get money from your lawsuit.
- All costs are waived: We won’t pass any of the costs of your lawsuit on to you – that’s all included in our fees. This also means that you won’t be stuck with our costs if your lawsuit doesn’t work out.
We know that our clients’ lives are difficult enough – perhaps the most difficult they’ve ever been – and we are here to help in whatever way we can. This includes setting up a fee structure that doesn’t burden them further.
Benefits of a Contingency Fee Setup for Personal Injury Clients
A contingency fee setup is beneficial for personal injury clients because it:
- Doesn’t add costs now: You already have outstanding bills from your injuries and your potential loss of earning ability. You don’t need an additional bill right now. With contingency fees, you won’t have lawyer bills until you have money to pay them.
- Aligns your interests with the lawyer’s: Every lawyer is supposed to act in their clients’ best interests, but a contingency fee makes the lawyer’s interests the same as yours. They want the same thing as you.
- Pegs your fee to your earnings: Some people are afraid that hiring a lawyer for their personal injury case will cost more than it earns. With a contingency fee, you know that your lawyer will only take a percentage of your earnings, no matter how much work they put into your case.
Because of these benefits, most people will choose a contingency fee setup when getting a lawyer for their personal injury lawsuit.
Legal Requirements for Contingency Contracts
In addition to the benefits above, contingency fee arrangements include protections for you to make sure that you know what you’ve gotten into and the lawyer will honor their commitment. To protect you, the lawyer must give you a signed copy of the contract, and the contract should include:
- The contingency fee rate
- How costs will affect the contingency fee
- Whether the client might have other costs and fees not covered by the contingency fee
- A statement that the contingency rate is negotiable. For medical malpractice and other lawsuits against health care providers, there is a legal maximum, but clients could still negotiate a lower one.
If your contract doesn’t have all these aspects, you can get out of it.
Are All Contingency Lawyers the Same?
Although most personal injury lawyers offer their services on a contingency fee basis, these lawyers are not all the same. It’s important to understand how they differ so you can find the best lawyer for your situation.
First, it’s important to choose a lawyer who has the skills and experience to handle your case. This is the most important criterion to use in choosing a lawyer. Next, you should choose one that you feel comfortable working with. You might be working with them a lot, and you are putting your future in their hands. A lawyer doesn’t need to be your best friend, but you should trust them and be able to speak honestly with them.
Finally, lawyers can have different contingency fee setups. Lawyers may have different:
- Fee rates
- Policies about how costs are handled
- Policies about what is covered by the fee
When talking to contingency lawyers, ask about how costs related to the lawsuit will be handled. Ask if there are situations where you might be asked to pay costs and fees in addition to the contingency fee.
Understanding the Three Types of Costs in Your Personal Injury Lawsuit
When preparing for your personal injury lawsuit, you need to understand the different types of costs related to the suit and how those costs might be handled. In general, these can be broken into three categories: attorney fees, incurred costs, and third – party costs.
Attorney Fees
These are payments directly to the attorney or firm for their work on your case. This includes the time that the lawyer spends researching your case, preparing documents, filing court documents, communicating with defendants and their lawyers, and time spent preparing for and arguing in court.
These are almost always covered by the contingency fee. This means that you will almost never have to pay these costs if you don’t win your case. This is the classic “No win, no fee” arrangement.
Incurred Costs
In addition to the lawyers’ time and effort, your case might require additional expenses. This can include hiring investigators and experts, court costs, and other expenses that the lawyer incurs in the process of pursuing your case.
Incurred costs are sometimes passed on to clients. This can diminish your earnings after a successful lawsuit. Consider two lawyers: the first who charges a 25% fee and passes costs on to you and the second who charges a 30% fee but doesn’t pass on costs. If you win a $10,000 settlement in a slip and fall lawsuit, the first lawyer would take $2500, leaving you $7500, but then might expect you to pay $1000 or more in costs, so your earnings are actually $6500 or less. With the second lawyer, you know that they will always take $3000, leaving you with $7000 no matter the costs.
Some lawyers may even pass incurred costs on to you if they don’t win your case. In that situation, you may not win money but may have additional bills.
At Fisher & Talwar, we never pass costs on to you. Even if we don’t win your case, we don’t expect you to pay for our expenses.
Third-Party Costs
Third-party costs are costs that you incur in the course of pursuing your lawsuit, possibly at the direction of your lawyer. The most common form of this cost is bills from doctors that you see in support of your lawsuit. Although these might be helpful for your lawsuit, they are your bills, and your lawyer will not pay them for you. This is standard for all lawyers.
Free, Confidential, No-Obligation Consultation
Do you have additional questions about your case or how fees work? Call our contingency based lawyers at Fisher & Talwar for a free, no-obligation consultation. In this consultation, you can tell us about your situation and ask questions about a potential lawsuit. This can include questions about our fee arrangement and how it differs from other lawyers. This call is 100% free. Even if you decide not to work with us, we will never send you a bill for this consultation. And there’s never any obligation. Until you sign a contract, you are under no responsibility to work with us or ever pay us a fee.
Is a Free Consultation Covered by Attorney-Client Privilege?
Some people worry about discussing sensitive information in a call with a lawyer before they officially become a client. However, if the situation is one where you are talking to a lawyer in a consultation with a reasonable expectation of confidentiality, that consultation is considered privileged, even if you don’t end up hiring that lawyer.
We promise you that your consultation is confidential: you can speak freely, and we won’t share what you said.