Is an association better off hiring an attorney on an hourly or contingent fee basis?
In the long run it is often less expensive for an association to hire an attorney on an hourly basis. However, typically it takes over a year to resolve a claim, and most associations cant afford to pay an attorneys hourly fees on a monthly basis for a year or more before the case is resolved. So most associations will hire an attorney on a contingent fee basis to avoid a unit owner assessment to finance the prosecution of the claim. Also, an attorney is unlikely to be willing to advance the costs of an investigation and other expenses of prosecuting the claim if the attorney is working on an hourly fee basis rather than on a contingent fee basis.
