A personal injury attorney in Grand Prairie usually expects the client to pay a contingency fee. That is a percentage of the money that the same client has received, once the case has been won.
What factors determine the size of the percent that should be taken from the client’s monetary reward?
The complexity of the case: A lawyer must devote more time to a complex case. Hence, that same lawyer would not agree to a figure below 33%.
The degree of risk associated with a specific claim could factor into the size of the percentage that a lawyer might ask from the client that had sought help with resolution of that same risky claim.
Most lawyers ask for 30% of a client’s compensation, following agreement on a settlement package. However, if the negotiations failed to end with a settlement, then the lawyer-client team could elect to pursue litigation. In that case, the attorney would want at least 40% of any court-ordered judgment.
Clients pay costs plus the fee.
When personal injury lawyers handle a case, most of them pay out-of-pocket each time that a cost might arise. What events or needs could trigger the introduction of an added cost?
It could be a filing fee, payment for an expert witness, or postage. It might also be the costs associated with the discovery process or the cost for the displays used during a trial.
A personal injury attorney covers those costs, because the client hopes to win, and to reimburse his source of legal assistance. Yet there are 2 different ways by which a lawyer could remove the money that had been offered, as various costs arose.
The 2 ways for reimbursing a personal injury lawyer
The funds that would cover the added expenses/costs could be taken out of any compensation or court-ordered judgment before removal of the compensation fee. Alternately, those funds could be taken out of what remained, after acquisition of the contingency fee.
How does each of those approaches affect the size of the package that makes its way to the person that won the case (the client)? Do clients get more money if their lawyer has used one approach, instead of the other?
Yes, the approach used does affect the size of the awarded funds. Clients do not receive as much money, if their chosen attorney has taken his or her contingency free before removing the amount of money that should cover the costs.
Clients’ awareness of that fact can help them to enjoy more money, after winning a case. It helps to ask a consulted lawyer exactly how he or she plans to apportion out the amount for covering costs and the amount for covering the compensation fee.