Personal Injury Law

San Diego Injury Victims Might Be Affected By Latest Fee Cap Initiatives

By Ross Jurewitz

It is not often that we report on the legal happenings of other states. But this time it is important to let San Diegans know about several efforts to cap the percentage of a recovery contingency fee lawyers can receive--and to understand why such limitations are short-sighted and dangerous.

The contingency fee agreement is the primary manner in which average people can hire attorneys to litigate their interests. Under a contingency fee agreement, the client is able to hire an attorney who will work for them for months or sometimes years at a time without receiving payment for services until the attorney actually obtains a monetary settlement or judgment for the client. The more the attorney recovers for the client, the greater the fee he is entitled to receive. Further, if the attorney does not obtain a monetary recovery, the client does not owe the lawyer anything for the legal services provided.

Without the contingency fee arrangement, clients would be forced to hire attorneys solely by paying for legal services by the hour at rates of anywhere from $200 to $350 per hour, in most cases. Most clients, with legitimate cases, could not afford to hire an attorney under an hourly fee arrangement.

Which makes Oregon Initiative 51 all the more dangerous.

Full post as published by San Diego Injury Lawyer Blog on March 09, 2008 (boomark / email).