How injury lawyer fees work

Two bills, not one

The fee is what the lawyer is paid for the work. In an injury case it is usually a percentage of the recovery.

The costs are what the case itself spends: filing fees, records, medical reports, and similar. They are not the lawyer’s pay. They go to other people, and the agreement should say who fronts them, when they are repaid, and whether you still owe them if there is no recovery.

A lawyer can truthfully say that the fee depends on a recovery and still leave you owing costs. Always ask about both.

How this firm charges

The firm works on a contingency fee: the fee is a percentage of what is recovered. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee, but you may still be responsible for court costs and case expenses.

Free case evaluation.

That is the firm’s own description. The terms of any case are in the written agreement and, if there is a difference, the agreement controls. Compare what the firm says here with what any other firm says to you.

What California requires

For a percentage fee in California, California Business and Professions Code section 6147 sets out what the lawyer must do. We read it on the day shown under Sources. It says:

• The contract is in writing, and the client gets a duplicate, signed by both, when it is signed.
• It states the fee rate, and how costs and disbursements affect the fee and the client’s recovery.
• It states how far the client could owe the lawyer for related matters that the contract does not cover.
• Unless section 6146 applies, it states that the fee is not set by law and is negotiable.

If a contract does not follow the section, the client may void it, and the lawyer is then entitled to a reasonable fee. The section does not cover workers’ compensation contracts. If your case is one, a different rule applies and a lawyer who handles it can tell you which.

What Washington requires

In Washington, the rule is paragraph (c) of Washington Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5 (Fees), paragraph (c). We read it on the day shown under Sources. It says:

• The agreement is in a writing signed by the client.
• It states the method of the fee, including the percentages for a settlement, a trial or an appeal.
• It states the expenses that will be taken out of the recovery, and whether they come out before or after the fee is figured.
• It clearly tells the client about the expenses the client owes whether the case is won or lost.

The order things come out

Suppose a case ends with a recovery, a percentage fee and some costs. The fee can be figured on the whole recovery, with costs taken out after. Or the costs can come out first, and the fee is figured on what is left. With the same percentage, figuring the fee on the amount left after costs generally leaves the client more than figuring it on the whole recovery.

Neither order is wrong. They are different, and the agreement must say which one applies. Washington’s rule requires the agreement to say it. When you read a California agreement, look for the same thing, because the state’s section requires the contract to explain how costs affect the fee and your recovery.

Others who may be paid

The lawyer is not always the only one with a claim on a recovery. A hospital, an insurer or a government program may be owed money for treating you. Ask the lawyer who might have a claim, how the lawyer handles it, and whether the lawyer’s fee is figured before or after those claims are paid. The answer belongs in the agreement or in a written note you can keep.

The closing statement

In Washington, the rule says that at the end of the matter the lawyer gives the client a written statement of the outcome. It must show the remittance to the client and how it was figured. Read it line by line against your agreement. If a number is not what the agreement said, ask why, in writing. In California, ask the lawyer whether you will get a written breakdown too, and ask for it in the agreement.

In another state

Every state has its own rule for these agreements. This page states California’s and Washington’s because those are the sources it cites. For another state, read that state’s bar rules or ask the bar. The reading checklist works anywhere, because it asks what the agreement says, not what the law is.