Most people understand the basic idea of a contingency fee arrangement: if your personal injury case succeeds, your lawyer is paid from the settlement or judgment. If the case does not succeed, the lawyer absorbs the time and effort spent on the file. Lawyers who work on contingency, therefore, aim to take on files where the client has a reasonable chance of success – when the claim succeeds, the client receives compensation for their injuries, and the lawyer is paid for the work.
That arrangement is important for access to justice. It allows injured people to pursue claims without paying legal fees by the hour as the case progresses. Without contingency fees, very few people could afford to sue an insurance company, a large corporation, a municipality, or another well-resourced defendant.
