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“No fee unless we win” is the most common sentence on personal injury websites and one of the least explained. Here is the whole picture, including the parts that are usually left out.
In a contingency arrangement the lawyer is paid a percentage of what is recovered. If there is no recovery, there is no attorney’s fee. The percentage and the circumstances that change it are set out in a written fee agreement, which you read and sign before any work begins.
That agreement is not a formality. It should state the percentage, whether it changes if the case is filed or tried, how case expenses are handled, and what happens if the representation ends early. If any of that is unclear to you when you read it, that is a question to ask before signing, not after.
This is the distinction that surprises people, and it is worth understanding before you sign anything.
The attorney’s fee is what the lawyer is paid. Case expenses are the money spent to build the case: filing fees, deposition and court reporter costs, medical and billing records, expert witnesses, accident reconstruction, life care planners, economists, investigators, mediation fees, exhibits.
In a serious case these are substantial. Experts alone can run into six figures.
Two things to be clear on in your own agreement: whether expenses are deducted before or after the fee is calculated, which changes the arithmetic; and what happens to advanced expenses if there is no recovery. Firms handle both differently. Ours are stated in writing before you sign.
The other thing that comes out of a recovery is what is owed for the treatment.
Health insurers frequently have subrogation rights. Some providers treat under a letter of protection, agreeing to wait for payment out of the recovery. Hospitals in Texas may file liens. Government payers have their own recovery rights.
Part of the work at the end of a case is negotiating these down, and it is real work that changes what the client actually receives. A settlement figure is not the client’s number until the liens are resolved.
What is the percentage, and does it change if the case is filed or tried?
Are expenses deducted before or after the fee?
If we lose, do I owe the expenses?
Who will actually work my case day to day, and will I be able to reach that person?
Will you associate another firm, and if so, does my total fee change?
Any lawyer should answer all five without hesitation.
Contingent fees in Texas are governed by Rule 1.04 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 1.04(d) requires a contingent fee agreement to be in writing and to state how the fee is determined, including the percentages that apply and how expenses are handled, and Section 82.065 of the Government Code requires the contract to be signed by the attorney and the client. Rule 1.04(a) prohibits an unconscionable fee.
Where another lawyer is brought in, Rule 1.04(f) permits a division of the fee between lawyers who are not in the same firm only if the client consents in writing to the terms of the arrangement, the division is either in proportion to the work each lawyer performs or made with each lawyer assuming joint responsibility, and the total fee is not unconscionable. Rule 1.04(g) sets out how that arrangement is confirmed. The point of those rules, from the client’s side, is simple: bringing in co-counsel is a decision you make in writing, and it does not increase what you pay.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
The arithmetic, in order: the gross recovery, less the attorney’s fee, less case expenses, less the medical bills and liens that have to be paid. What remains is the client’s.
At the end of a case you should receive a written closing statement showing every one of those lines. If a firm cannot show you that on one page, ask why.
There is no charge for the first conversation, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery. Case expenses are explained in the written fee agreement before you sign anything.
Call 713-521-0059.
Schiffer Law Firm, 5300 Memorial Drive, Suite 750, Houston, Texas 77007.
This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
We do associate co-counsel on cases that need resources beyond what a small firm carries alone. When we do, the client’s total attorney’s fee does not increase; the existing fee is divided between the firms. It happens only with the client’s written consent, after the client is told which firms would be involved and how the fee would be divided. Jacob Schiffer remains the client’s lawyer and remains responsible for the case.
A percentage of the recovery, stated in writing before you sign, with the percentages and how expenses are handled set out in the agreement.
No. They are separate, and the agreement says how they are handled.
Rule 1.04 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 1.04(d) requires a contingent fee agreement in writing, and Government Code Section 82.065 requires it to be signed by the attorney and the client.
No. Rule 1.04(f) requires your written consent to the arrangement and the total fee must not be unconscionable. Splitting a fee does not enlarge it.
