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Contingency Fees in New York Personal Injury Cases
Why our team handles Buffalo personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis
If you’re dealing with the effects of a negligence-related accident, like mounting medical expenses, missed work shifts, and physical and emotional distress, the thought of paying attorneys’ fees may seem out of the question. This is precisely why O’Brien & Ford PC handles personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This arrangement allows us to provide reliable, flexible support to our clients without adding to their financial strain. Many prospective clients have questions about how this fee structure works, and we think it’s important to engage in radical transparency around these things.
Here is a brief overview of how contingency fees work, as well as an explanation of some of the legal considerations and other factors that may affect the bottom line of your case. If you have more specific questions, however, contact us today to speak with one of our Buffalo personal injury lawyers. We can talk you through your legal options and offer clarity around what you can expect when you partner with O’Brien & Ford PC.
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- What is a contingency fee?
- How lawyers commonly bill their clients
- How much is a contingency fee in New York?
- How do lawyers calculate contingency fees?
- Attorneys’ fees vs. case expenses: What’s the difference?
- Why choose O’Brien & Ford PC to handle your personal injury case
- Frequently asked questions about contingency fees
- Speak with a Buffalo personal injury lawyer about your case
What is a contingency fee?
A contingency fee is a payment arrangement in which the attorneys’ fees paid by a client are dependent upon the outcome of a case. In these arrangements, the fees are calculated as a percentage of the client’s recovery. This means, in most cases, that a client will not be required to pay any attorneys’ fees if their legal team is unsuccessful in recovering compensation in their case.
The exact percentage a client could owe and the way it will be calculated must be explained in the attorney’s retainer agreement. If you’re in the process of selecting a personal injury attorney to handle your case, it’s important that they are open with you about their fee structure. Any agreement you sign should also address how additional case expenses will be handled throughout or at the culmination of your case. If an attorney is unwilling to be upfront with you about these considerations, it may serve as a red flag.
Legal expenses can be incredibly costly – particularly in high-value cases – and the wrong agreement can seriously impact the amount of compensation you take home when your case resolves.
How lawyers commonly bill their clients
While reviewing your legal options, you should make it a point to review the fee structure you’d be agreeing to by partnering with a particular firm. Not every personal injury law firm works on a contingency fee basis. In fact, there are a few other billing structures you may encounter when researching personal injury lawyers near you.
Some of the most common payment arrangements include:
Billable hours
Some lawyers work on an hourly basis, and payment functions much like hourly wages do in other industries. The attorney will charge the client for the time they spend working on the case and invoice them in accordance with their hourly rate. Clients may receive invoices weekly, biweekly, monthly, or in some other cadence.
As you can probably imagine, hourly billing and ongoing invoicing can create a major financial barrier for some clients. Since personal injury victims are often dealing with extensive medical and other expenses in the wake of an accident, adding regular payments to an attorney into the mix can be untenable for many of these clients.
Flat fees
You may also encounter attorneys who charge a flat fee for their services. This arrangement can function fairly effectively when a case is straightforward, and the lawyer has a good sense for how much time and labor they will need to put into it. Personal injury cases aren’t often predictable enough to suit this arrangement.
A personal injury case can last months or even years, and sudden twists and turns can result in major changes to the attorney’s labor investment to the extent that the flat fee is not sufficient to cover their time and other expenses.
Hybrid arrangements
Lawyers sometimes offer hybrid arrangements that allow them to charge an hourly rate for certain preliminary work and a flat fee for more specific tasks. They may also charge an hourly rate for certain administrative tasks and impose a lower contingency fee to cover other services. These arrangements can make sense in some cases, but it’s important to weigh whether the fixed fees or hourly charges would be within your financial means before you’ve received any case compensation.
Contingency fees
Since contingency fees are calculated based on the client’s recovery, they can be much more manageable for individuals already dealing with mounting accident-related costs. Contingency fee arrangements also benefit clients in that they generally protect them from shelling out large amounts of attorneys’ fees in cases that do not yield compensation.
These arrangements also incentivize attorneys to bring their A-game in a case. Their compensation is directly dependent on their client’s recovery, which means it’s in the lawyer’s best interest to fight for the maximum amount of compensation available to their client.
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“I cannot say enough good things about Chris Pannozzo and this law firm! From start to finish, the professionalism, communication, and dedication was exceptional. I always felt supported, comfortable, listened to, and confident that I was in good hands. My case was handled with the utmost care and attention, and I couldn’t be happier with the way everything was resolved. I would highly recommend the firm to anyone.”
“The professionalism I received from the entire staff was great. Christopher Pannozzo, Annat and John worked tirelessly to get me the justice I deserve. Even Patrice the receptionist was professional and always a joy to talk to. Thank you guys for the hard work and taking my case.”
“I highly recommend O'Brien & Ford, P.C. to anyone who has been injured and needs someone they can trust. I’m extremely thankful for everything Anant and his team did for me and for the way I was treated throughout the entire process. They were professional, knowledgeable, and always took the time to explain things clearly and answer my questions. I would highly recommend this law firm.”
How much is a contingency fee in New York?
Contingency fees are subject to New York court rules. In Buffalo, contingency fees in most personal injury cases are governed by 22 NYCRR § 1015.15, which generally allows attorneys to impose either a contingency fee of up to one-third of the recovery or use the declining schedule below (medical, dental, and podiatric malpractice cases are subject to a different statutory fee schedule).
If a lawyer chooses to utilize the declining schedule rather than a single percentage under Schedule B, they may be able to impose fees of up to:
- 50% of the first $1,000 recovered
- 40% of the next $2,000
- 35% of the next $22,000
- 25% of any amount recovered over $25,000
You’ll want to confirm which fee arrangement your attorney plans to use when representing you to avoid any surprises further down the line. Keep in mind that an attorney is also welcome to charge fees that are less than the schedule set forth in the rules and regulations.
These schedules are meant to protect clients from unreasonable financial exploitation, so fees above those limits generally cannot be imposed without specific court authorization, if the applicable rules even permit such an exception.
How do lawyers calculate contingency fees?
We’ve already discussed that contingency fees are generally calculated as a percentage of the client’s recovery, but there are some other factors that can affect these calculations. Case costs are one such variable that can change things significantly. Depending on the method selected by the client in the retainer agreement, attorneys may deduct case expenses from the client’s recovery first and then calculate the contingency fee on the remainder. Let’s walk through a quick example of how that would work:
If a case yields $65,000 in compensation, but the client owes $5,000 in case costs, their lawyer may deduct the $5,000 from the settlement before calculating their contingency fee. At that point, the remaining funds would total $60,000. If the contingency fee agreement entitles the attorney to one-third of the client’s recovery, the attorney’s compensation would amount to $20,000, leaving the client with $40,000 of their own.
The client may also have outstanding liens or other expenses that must be paid from that remaining $40,000; however, it’s important to carefully consider all of the factors that could impact your take-home compensation before agreeing to any fee arrangement.
Attorneys’ fees vs. case expenses: What’s the difference?
Sometimes, clients are unclear about the differences between attorneys’ fees and case costs. While attorneys’ fees often constitute a significant legal expense, there are other costs that can impact your recovery, regardless of whether or not your attorney is working on a contingency fee basis.
At O’Brien & Ford PC, we generally advance case costs to give our clients greater financial flexibility while their claims are pending. At the conclusion of a case, however, clients may be asked to reimburse certain upfront costs. Depending on the specifics of the case, these expenses might include:
- Court filing fees
- Medical record requests
- Expert witness fees
- Deposition transcripts
- Court reporter fees
- Accident investigations
- Trial exhibits
- Postage
- Travel expenses
Whether clients are responsible for case costs if there is no recovery depends on the terms of the retainer agreement. This is something you’ll want to discuss in detail with your attorney prior to signing their retainer agreement.
You will also want to consider any medical liens or outstanding bills that will need to come out of your recovery. These payments aren’t part of the attorney’s fee, but they are expenses that can create a serious dent in your net compensation. If you do not recover any compensation, your unpaid debts may become a source of financial strain. This is why it’s so important to consider all of the costs associated with your case rather than focusing exclusively on the possible value of your recovery.
Why choose O’Brien & Ford PC to handle your personal injury case
O’Brien & Ford PC handles personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis because we believe it aligns with our mission to provide human-centered legal support that balances compassionate care with aggressive representation. By working on a contingency fee basis, we are able to tailor our services according to our clients’ needs without placing them under undue financial strain.
In addition to utilizing contingency fee agreements in our practice, we also pride ourselves on providing highly personalized legal services. We intentionally limit our caseloads so our clients can retain access to their legal representatives. We’ll know you by name, and we’ll do our part to handle your story with the care it deserves.
When you call our office, we connect you with an attorney within two minutes of your call. That’s how serious we are about making space for the people who need our help when they need it most. During your initial consultation, we can discuss the details of your case and talk through what our partnership could look like. We don’t charge anything for these consultations, and we won’t pressure you to make a decision until you’re ready.
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If you were injured in a traumatic accident in Buffalo or elsewhere in Erie County, we would love the opportunity to share more about what we do. Give us a call or visit one of our local offices at 4549 Main St., Suite 201, or 701 Seneca St., Suite 208, to speak to one of our personal injury attorneys. We handle our cases on a contingency fee basis, and we strive to provide the most proactive, personal legal support possible to the clients who entrust us with their cases.
O’Brien & Ford, P.C.
4549 Main Street, Suite 201
Buffalo, NY 14226
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701 Seneca Street, Suite 208
Buffalo, NY 14210
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Frequently asked questions about contingency fees
Do I need to pay a retainer before hiring a personal injury lawyer?
In a traditional contingency-fee arrangement, clients generally are not required to pay a retainer fee at the onset of their case. Instead, the attorney will collect an agreed-upon percentage of any compensation the client receives at the conclusion of their case.
What happens if my case is unsuccessful?
Do I pay the contingency fee directly?
Do I have to pay more if my case goes to trial?
Speak with a Buffalo personal injury lawyer about your case
If you’re dealing with the aftermath of a serious accident, odds are you have a lot on your plate. Searching for an attorney can feel like yet another impossible obligation, but the choices you make during these early stages of your case can have major implications for your future recovery.
At O’Brien & Ford PC, we think it’s important to be upfront with prospective clients about how we will support them. We want you to have all the information you need to make confident decisions about who represents you and how. That’s why we offer free initial consultations to individuals considering hiring us to represent them in their Buffalo personal injury case.