This is an inside look at how lawyers and law firms assess cases and decide whether to take your case on a “no fee until we win” arrangement. You probably have seen or heard those ads if you watch sports on TV or listen on the radio “we’ve won millions for our clients;” “no fee until we win;” “we make insurance companies pay!!!!”
By the way: the proper way to say it is “no fee UNLESS we win.” The transitive verb “until” suggests that “winning” is a foregone conclusion and that is just not true or fair to you.
In the law, these types of cases are what are called “contingency fee” cases. When you see these so-called “big” firms advertise by using washed up but beloved athletes and/or former clients or actors talking about “I did not have to pay a thing; they handled everything.” Well, let’s face it – that IS misleading – slightly.
Here is what I mean – you still pay the attorney fee. You also pay for the costs that the attorney covers to get the case to the finish line. These are things like court reporters for depositions and transcripts of the deposition, the fee for your medical records, copy costs, expert witnesses if necessary and stuff like that. You ultimately pay for all of it – because it comes out of the final number that you get to put in your pocket.
So, when attorneys spend all that money on all that advertising, what they are doing is this: they are investing in the opportunity to assess your case and either a) take it in and work the file to a final settlement or, in rare cases a verdict at trial or; b) refer it to another law firm, who is willing to run the risk on investing in the case for a smaller financial recovery BUT also pay a referral fee to said big advertising law firm or; c) turn it down.
What attorneys look for – and this is going to sound cynical, but it is true: is a really bad injury or a death and a “sympathetic face.” In other words, the person who I will have a jury see in a trial, or an insurance company adjuster a/k/a claims representative see, needs to be someone who is going to pry open the pocketbook. That is the only way to put it so might as well be frank about it. Someone who comes across as “entitled” or has the victim mentality or is just, well a money grubber is not someone who a law firm wants to represent. Savvy insurance adjusters are going to see right through that and will say “see you in court – no check for you.”
Remember, most of the time it is the insurance company that ends up hiring the lawyer and potentially writing the check for the settlement or to pay the jury verdict. It is a component of the law and insurance contracts called “subrogation.” The insurance company steps into the shoes of the person who wrote the checks for all those premiums when bad stuff goes down.
Another point: and this is a big one – if you are the one who is hurt, whether it is a car crash, a site accident or some other calamity, follow your doctor’s orders. If the doctor tells you to wear a neck brace: wear the neck brace until further orders. This advice is coming from someone who spent a summer in a neck brace – it is the last possible thing that anyone wants to do but it has to be done if that is what the doctor orders. Why? Simple – there is a procedure called a “deposition.” You probably heard that word before. It is a procedure in which the lawyer representing the other side puts you under oath, with a court reporter and gets to ask you anything at all that is relevant. A very relevant line of questioning includes your injury and whether you are “malingering” or faking.
(PS – they are doctors for a reason, and they took an oath to help you so when they say “wear a neck brace for x-number of weeks” – there is a reason, and it is not just to make you miserable. That is probably the most important reason to follow orders).
Mark my word – good defense attorneys will have private investigators (PI’s) follow you. You do not want to be in that deposition and swear under oath that you wore your neck brace that you have on at that moment in your lawyer’s conference room; that you’ve worn it diligently and consistent with the doctor’s order …. Only to be shown a picture of you in a bowling alley last week; no neck brace; a can of Busch Lite within reach and jumping up and down after you converted a 7-10 split. THAT my friend, is a gutter ball for your lawyer and might even get you “fired” as the client.
The personal injury and wrongful death cases are valuable to lawyers and law firms because insurance companies have a legal duty to both defend the person who screwed up (like the driver who failed to signal before turning in a traffic crash) and to pay for both hard damages: like lost wages and medical bills as well as pain and suffering (at least in Michigan). That of course, is where the “likeability” quotient of the client or the representative of the estate of a person who was killed is important.
The legal system in America is designed so that only money can right a wrong. It has been probably 400 years or more since the days of an “eye for an eye;” when the person wronged could pick the manner of punishing a wrongdoer. It is the “American way.” The system is designed to reward lawyers who take a chance on a case, risk that the law firm will not be paid and/or that the law firm will even spend money out of their pocket on a file that may pay off or – depending on the case facts and the client’s choices going forward – may turn into a big fat goose egg. Take your time and be smart when choosing your lawyer – and then make sure to listen to your lawyer. Oh yeah, and listen to your doctor, too.
The information contained in this web site is neither legal advice nor is it intended to be legal advice. The information contained in this web site is general information designed to give the reader a basic understanding of some legal concepts about what we do in these areas.
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