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What is stated here—and what still needs an answer
Accepted injury matters are handled on a contingent-fee basis. The attorney fee is a percentage of the recovery under a written agreement. If there is no recovery, no attorney fee is charged. The written agreement separately explains the percentage and responsibility for case costs and expenses before representation begins.
The statement above does not replace the proposed written agreement. Use the agreement to identify the fee calculation, work covered, expense responsibilities, and terms for ending representation. Where a term is missing or unclear, make it a question rather than an assumption.
Three different questions about money
These categories explain why knowing the attorney-fee percentage alone does not tell you what you might owe or what would remain for you.
Attorney fee: payment for legal services
In a contingent-fee arrangement, the attorney fee depends on a recovery. Look for the percentage and the amount it would be applied to in the proposed agreement. That calculation is a different question from who pays the expenses of pursuing the matter.
Case expenses: costs of pursuing the matter
Case expenses are separate amounts connected with investigating, developing, or pursuing a matter. Whether an attorney fee is payable does not, by itself, answer who is responsible for those expenses or when they would be paid.
Other proposed payments: liens and repayment claims
Someone other than the lawyer may assert a lien or claim to repayment from a recovery. Keep each proposed payment visible as its own item rather than assuming it is included in the attorney fee or case expenses. Ask who is seeking payment, on what basis, and whether the amount is confirmed, estimated, or disputed.
What would actually reach you?
The total recovery and the amount you would receive are not necessarily the same. Ask for a written, itemized breakdown connecting the total recovery with the proposed attorney fee, case expenses, payments to others, and the amount remaining for you.
Ask which figures are final, which are estimates, and whether any claimed payment is still disputed. What would need to be resolved before the amount and timing of a payment to you could be confirmed?
Questions to clarify before signing
Work through the proposed agreement with these questions beside it. Mark anything you cannot answer from the text and ask for a written clarification. These are questions about the proposal, not a statement of additional 405 terms.
The fee, the calculation, and the work covered
- What work would the agreement cover, and what would be outside that scope?
- What percentage would apply, what amount would it be applied to, and does the proposal describe circumstances in which that percentage would change?
- Would expenses be deducted before or after applying the fee percentage, and how would the overall order of fees, expenses, and other payments be explained?
Expense responsibility and other proposed payments
- What expenses could be incurred, who would pay them while the matter is pending, and how would decisions about additional expenses be made?
- Who would be responsible for expenses if there were no recovery, or if the recovery were not enough to cover them?
- How would any lien, repayment claim, or other proposed payment be identified and explained? How would I learn whether its basis or amount was disputed?
Explanations, copies, and the end of representation
- How would I receive an itemized explanation of the fee, expenses, proposed payments to others, and the amount proposed for me?
- How would I receive a complete signed agreement, later amendments, and supporting statements or cost records?
- What would happen to fees, expenses, and responsibilities if representation ended before the matter concluded?
- Who could explain a term or amount I do not understand, and how would that clarification be provided in writing?