Contingency Fee in the United States

Plain-English Law

A method of paying a lawyer for legal representation by which, instead of an hourly or per-job fee (in Contingency Fee as defined by Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law pages 437-455)), the lawyer receives a percentage of the money the client obtains after settling or winning the case.

Patent Contingency Fee Litigation

Frequently people fund patent litigation by getting a litigator to work on a contingency fee basis. In a typical deal the lawyer will get 33% to 40% of the settlement or judgment after fees and expenses are deducted.

While a client will not be able to get a contingency fee arrangement unless the lawyer thinks the client has a good case, there are many ways that he can make out well while the client will get little or nothing. A few of the things to be aware of are:

Some lawyers have had contingency fee lawyers suddenly and unexpectedly present a bill for expenses and/or services at a very difficult point to force the patentholder to agree to changes in an the agreement.

Lawyers live by the written record, and what the say can be denied.

Remember if your lawyer goes before the judge to ask that the judge order his fee be paid, or that he be allowed to withdraw from the case, the judge will likely be prejudiced in the lawyer’s favor.

See Also

Contingent Fee in this Legal Encyclopedia
Contingent Fee definition in the Law Dictionary

Contingency Fee in the International Business Landscape

Definition of Contingency Fee in the context of U.S. international business and public trade policy: Type of payment for legal services in which the fee paid is based on the size of monetary payments awarded to the client.