Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers | January 19, 2015 | Personal Injury
A contingency fee is a contractual form of establishing an attorney’s fees between a client and an attorney. Generally, a contingency fee means that there are no attorney’s fees unless there is a recovery and the amount of the attorney’s fee is based on an agreed upon percentage of that recovery.
In many other areas of law, attorneys may ask for a retainer before they begin working on your case. A portion of that retainer may be nonrefundable and immediately payable to the lawyer, and the other portion would be held in trust and billed by the hour as work on your case progresses.
Obviously, there are several benefits to a contingency fee agreement over a retainer or hourly billing agreement. For starters, there is no upfront cost for attorney’s fees. Rather, your attorney’s fees come out of the recovery your lawyer helps you obtain at the end of your case.
This is most beneficial when you may be injured and unable to work, and cannot afford to pay a retainer to hire a lawyer to help you. In this respect, contingency fees are commonly referred to as “keys to the courthouse door” because no matter who you are, or how much money you have, you may still be able to hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you in your case.
Another factor that can be considered a benefit of contingency fees is that it aligns your interest with your attorney’s interest. Since the attorney’s fees are based on the amount of the recovery, the attorney also has an additional incentive to get the maximum value for your case. Lastly, contingency fees are beneficial for a client because if there is no recovery, then there is no attorney fee.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer from Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers for Help Today
For more information, please contact Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer in North Carolina today. We have twelve convenient locations in North Carolina, including Greenville, Raleigh, Goldsboro, Jacksonville, Kinston, Charlotte, Greensboro, Durham, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Winston-Salem & Garner.