In the law, a contingent fee is defined as a fee charged for the services of an attorney that is paid only if a lawsuit succeeds or results in a favorable settlement, usually in the form of a percentage of the amount recovered on behalf of the client. A contingency fee is a form of payment to a lawyer for his or her legal services. Unlike a fixed hourly rate, in a contingent fee agreement, lawyers receive a percentage of the monetary amount their client receives when they win or resolve the case. That is, generally in a contingency fee agreement, the lawyer only receives compensation if the lawyer has successfully represented the client.
In addition, the amount the lawyer receives depends on the outcome the lawyer obtains and often on the stage of the litigation at which the dispute is resolved. Contingency fees are particularly common in personal injury cases, where the successful lawyer receives between 20% and 50% of the recovery amount. A contingency fee is a type of payment to your lawyer that only occurs when you receive some form of monetary recovery in your case: your personal injury case is resolved or you win your case in court.
