I don’t want to make the mods nervous, so I’m not asking for any specific legal advice. I’m just curious, if a lawyer wants to take a case on a contingency basis, how much of the eventual settlement should I agree to? Is there a standard percentage?
How does one who has never sued anyone, nor been sued, nor know any lawyers or know anybody who knows lawyers, find out the best firm to go with?
Googling provides lots of law firms who’d like my business, but a flashy website doesn’t fill me with confidence.
My experience is around 30%, depending on the type of case. Remember, the attorney is betting his/her livelihood on winning. Time is money and they don’t like wasting theirs. There may be a down payment + contingency. I am involved in a suit currently, where the fee structure was $1500 up front, then all else on contingency. If we lose, the attorney doesn’t get anything else after the initial $1500. She’s pretty confident of a win so she went for it.
My wife had a similar situation a few years back. She didn’t want to go the legal route, but when the at-fault driver’s insurance company kept stalling she had no choice.
The lawyers cut was, i think, a third of the settlement. What i’m not sure is exactly how they calculated that, and whether things like expenses were taken out before or after the calculation.
Sounds fairly standard then. I was quoted 33-1/3%, but 40% if recovery is made after the defendants file an answer, and an additional 5% if an appeal is taken.
So I’m looking at the lawyer taking at least 40, maybe 45%. Ouch. Is that before or after taxes?
I’m not positive about this, but I believe things like court fees, expenses (photocopying, etc.) are in addition to the contingency fee. Some states have laws that limit the amount an attorney can take as a contingency fee.
As for finding a lawyer, your best bet is to ask people. I darn sure wouldn’t try to get one off the internet!