Boston area attorney Len Spada of #SpadaLawGroup explains how contingency fees work in Massachusetts personal injury claims. Find out why you won’t pay us until and unless we win for you!
TRANSCRIPT:
Personal injury lawyers like myself only get paid if and when we recover a settlement or a jury verdict for our clients. Our fee is therefore contingent on us recovering damages for our client. That is why all new clients are required to sign what's called a contingent fee agreement. These agreements call for a lawyer to receive a percentage of the client's gross recovery as their fee. The exact percentage can vary from attorney to attorney or case by case, but the range is most commonly between 25 and 40% of the settlement amount or verdict amount.
These contingent fee agreements have several benefits for the client. First, they ensure that the lawyer and the client's interests are aligned. The more substantial the recovery for the client, the greater the fee for the lawyer. Second, it allows any person regardless of their financial situation to obtain add hire skilled counsel if they have a meritorious case. If the attorney required payment by the hour, only certain individuals could afford to get their case heard and recover.
Although each case is different, most cases have expenses associated with their handling. These expenses can range anywhere from just a few dollars to tens of thousands of dollars in very complex cases. Most lawyers will advance these costs, meaning they'll pay for them out of their own money, until the case is either settled or the client wins at court. If you are hiring an attorney to handle your injury case, you will be asked to sign a contingent fee agreement. Before you do be sure you understand the following.
One, how the fee is calculated. Two, whether you are required to pay any costs during the process. Three, what type of costs are likely to be incurred in your type of case? Four, if the case is unsuccessful, will you owe the attorney anything? And five, if you change lawyers, will you owe anything to the lawyer? And last, does the agreement cover both trial of the case and an appeal if necessary? Make sure you fully understand the agreement before you sign it. Take it home. Think about any additional questions you may have. Sometimes just sleeping on it for a day or two will bring to mind more questions that you would've liked answered. Do not feel pressured to sign right there in the lawyer's office. You sign it when you're comfortable and ready.
If you have any questions about either the process of hiring the right attorney, or want more information about the whole process of bringing a personal injury case, please give us a call. We also have free resources on our website. You can download resources at spadalawgroup.com.
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