You do not pay an injury lawyer up front. The fee is a percentage of whatever the case recovers, and if the case recovers nothing, you owe no fee. That is what “contingency” means, and it is how nearly all injury work is done.
The reason it exists is simple: it lets someone with no money hire a lawyer as good as the one the insurance company already has. But “no fee unless you win” on a billboard hides a lot of variation in how these agreements are actually written. Here is what to look for before you sign anyone’s—including mine.
How It Actually Works
In California the agreement has to be in writing, it has to state how the fee is calculated, and it has to explain how expenses are handled.
In practice the percentage usually changes depending on how far the case goes: lower if it settles before a lawsuit is filed, higher once a lawsuit is filed or the case heads toward trial. That reflects the amount of work and the risk involved.
When the case resolves, the money does not go straight to anyone. It goes into the attorney’s trust account. Fees, expenses, and any medical bills that have to be repaid come out of it, and the rest goes to you—with a written breakdown showing every number. (The written-agreement requirement is Business and Professions Code section 6147.)
The Fee and the Expenses Are Two Different Things
The fee pays for the lawyer’s work. Expenses are what the case itself costs: court filing fees, getting your medical records, depositions, expert witnesses, accident reconstruction. In most injury practices the firm pays these along the way and is repaid out of the recovery.
Two questions decide how much this matters to you. First: are expenses subtracted before or after the percentage is calculated? Subtracting them first leaves you with more. Second: if the case loses, do you owe the expenses back? Neither answer is standard across firms, which is exactly why the law requires it in writing—and why you should read that part.
What This Model Rewards, and What It Tempts
A contingency lawyer only gets paid when you recover, which lines up our interests—mostly. The known temptation is volume: sign a lot of cases, settle them fast at a discount, and let turnover make up the difference.
That is the model I deliberately built against. I take fewer cases, work them as though they are going to trial, and handle the fee agreement the way I handle the case: you will understand every number before you sign, and see every number at the end.
Questions Worth Asking Any Lawyer
- What is the percentage at each stage?
- Are case expenses subtracted before or after the fee is calculated?
- If there is no recovery, do I owe the expenses?
- Who will actually work on my case day to day?
- Who negotiates my medical bills down, and how?
- Do I get to approve a settlement before it is accepted? (You do— that decision is legally yours, always.)
A lawyer who welcomes these questions is telling you something. So is one who does not. Consultations with me are free, and the fee conversation happens before you sign anything, not after—reach out if you want to have it.