Contingent Attorney Fees

Shields Law Group handles almost 100% of his client’s personal injury claims on a contingent fee basis. This means you or your loved one incur no attorney fees if no recovery is made on your claim. If a successful recovery is made, then you pay only a previously agreed percentage to our law office for the legal services provided. Why is this contingent fee arrangement regarding attorney fees beneficial to you?

Most experienced trial attorneys in the Kansas City area are billing anywhere from $450 to $850 an hour for legal representation. In a personal injury claim, no attorney can tell you beforehand how much time or effort will be required by him or her to settle your claim. Sometimes insurance companies are reasonable in the early stages, the liability of the defendant is clear, and early settlements are achieved. However, more and more insurance companies for defendants are dragging the claims process out, offering “low ball” settlement offers or outright denying claims in an effort to keep compensation out of your hands. This leaves you and your attorney two options: settle for a minimal amount or file suit and litigate your case. If along the way the insurance company still does not get reasonable, you had better have an attorney prepared to try your case to a verdict if needed.

If your case does require a lawsuit, pre-trial discovery is undertaken. This involves preparation of the lawsuit papers, depositions of the parties involved, pre-trial paper discovery involving interrogatories and requests for production, etc. Along the way, it is not uncommon to encounter motions to strike, motions to dismiss and/or motions for summary judgment, all of which require extensive legal research and briefing to the court. Routinely expert witnesses must be consulted and identified to the Court. Finally, if trial is required, a pre-trial conference and pre-trial order are all done and filed with the court. Before we even get to your trial date, literally hundreds and sometimes thousands of hours will have been incurred working on your or your loved one’s case. At $450/hour and 100 hours of legal work, that in itself would entail a billable hour attorney fee of $45,000. 200 hours of legal work would be $90,000.  200 hours at $850 an hour would be $170,000. With a contingent fee arrangement, the unknown of how much it will cost you in attorney fees is removed from the equation. And in the event no recovery is made, you owe nothing for attorney fees. That is the benefit of the contingent fee arrangement. You have access to experienced trial counsel with no money needed to pay an upfront retainer.