What is a contingency fee arrangement?
A contingency fee is a fee arrangement that is commonly used in plaintiff personal injury cases. Under a contingency fee arrangement, the attorney is only paid if he or she obtains a favorable outcome in the case. The contingent fee is typically a percentage of the recovery the attorney obtains either through settlement or a jury verdict. California’s Business & Professions Code governs attorney fee arrangements and mandates that contingency fee agreements are in writing. The contingency fee percentage is not set by law for a personal injury action; however, there are caps on medical malpractice cases. Minors are usually charged a lower contingency fee than adults.
