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Cincinnati Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Information regarding personal injury claims from a Cincinnati personal injury and accident lawyer focusing on Ohio law

Monday, February 27, 2006

Contingent Fee personal injury attorney fee contract revisited

There are many contracts that can be entered into with a lawyer. A lawyer is primarily under a duty to charge a reasonable fee and one that is not excessive. The following is reprinted for your information,regarding a contingency fee contract. In Ohio providing the following statement in writing is not required although some of the following statements may be mandatory requirements.

It is an aspirational statement made by only by some that the below statements be required in writing. In Ohio the fee agreement must be in writing and a final disbursement should also be in writing and signed by client and attorney.

Before you, the prospective client, arrange a
contingent fee agreement with a lawyer, you should understand this statement of your rights as a client.

1. There is no legal requirement that a lawyer charge a client a set fee or a percentage of money recovered in a case. You, the client, have the right to talk with your lawyer about the proposed fee and to bargain about the rate or percentage as in any other contract. If you do not reach an agreement, you may talk with other lawyers. Any contingent fee contract must be in writing.
2. In this jurisdiction, the maximum percentage fee that may be charged is _______%. (In Ohio there is no maximum fee.) Your lawyer must charge you a reasonable fee. The percentage fee charged to you should reflect the likelihood of winning, how much money is likely to be rewarded and collected, and how much work and expense the lawyer is likely to put into the case. Your lawyer’s expertise and the complexity of the case are also relevant.

3. Your lawyer should take all the following factors into account in evaluating your case and should discuss each factor with you, giving his or her best good faith evaluation:
· The likelihood of success
· The likely amount of recovery, if the case succeeds
· The possibility of an award of punitive damages — damages awarded because the injury was so avoidable or despicable — or damages that are multiplied by state statute, and how that will affect the fee
· The attitude and prior practices of the other side with respect to settlement
· The likelihood of collecting any judgment
· The availability of alternative dispute resolution
· The amount of time that a lawyer is likely to spend on the case
· The likely range of the fee if the matter’s handled on a non-contingency basis
· The client’s ability and willingness to pay a non-contingency fee
· The percentage of any recovery that the lawyer would receive as a contingency fee and whether that percentage is fixed or on a sliding scale (depending, for example, on whether a settlement is reached before a complaint is filed, or a trial is held or an appeal is needed)
· How expenses of the litigation will be handled.
4. You, the client, have the right to know in advance how you will need to pay the expenses and the legal fees at the end of the case.

5. You, the client, have the right to receive and approve a closing statement at the end of the case before you pay any money. The statement must list all of the financial details of the entire case, including the amount recovered, all expenses, and a precise statement of your lawyer’s fee.

6. You, the client, have the right to ask your lawyer at reasonable intervals how the case is progressing and to have these questions answered to the best of your lawyer’s ability.

7. You, the client, have the right to make the final decision regarding settlement of a case.

8. If at any time you, the client, believe that your lawyer has charged an excessive or illegal fee, you have the right to report the matter to the agency that oversees the practice and behavior all lawyers in this state. You can reach the agency at

Many attorneys would be glad to charge an hourly rate. That way they know they will get paid and in a timely fashion. The point is that ultimately your decision to hire a lawyer and the kind of fee you want to pay your lawyer is a matter of choice. It should be your educated choice.

I will be glad to discuss with you how I will charge you and it will be in wtiting if we agree to work together.

posted by Anthony Castelli at 8:17 PM

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Cincinnati Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Monday, February 27, 2006

Contingent Fee personal injury attorney fee contract revisited

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