Eric Kirk

Reduced Attorney Fee Plan For Maryland Personal Injury Cases

Many lawyers handle personal injury matters under what is known as a contingency fee arrangement. The "contingency" aspect means that something must occur for a fee to be earned by the attorney- specifically, a financial recovery. Usually, the lawyer will advance the costs of litigation, and, if there is a financial recovery, the lawyer will retain a percentage of that recovery as his or her fee. However, if there is no recovery obtained by the lawyer, there is no fee -and generally, no litigation costs- charged to the client.  This allows the victim of negligence, who may be out of work, or disabled because of the accident, to hire an attorney to pursue the claim without having to pay a sizeable retainer or high hourly fees up-front.

Practices vary from lawyer to lawyer and jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In Maryland, a common contingency fee arrangement calls for the lawyer to retain  33.3 % of the amount recovered in the case as a fee, and, under some agreements, lawyers may retain 40% of the amount recovered as a fee if a lawsuit is filed, and the claim is litigated.

UNDER MY REDUCED FEE PROGRAM, THE CONTINGENCY FEE PERCENTAGE IS 35% IF THE CASE GOES TO TRIAL, and 30% IF THE CASE SETTLES PRIOR TO SUIT 

Contingency fee agreements in civil cases have long been used and are common in the United States. You and your attorney should discuss preferred alternative fee arrangements,  such as flat rates, or hourly billing.  Often, however, injury victims are without the resources to hire a competent attorney to bring claims against large corporations and insurance companies with unlimited resources. The largest insurance companies in this county post profits in the tens of billions of dollars each and every year. Many times, a contingency fee arrangement is the only viable option in the face of those resources.

I adamantly believe every injury victim should have access to diligent, effective representation in their quest to achieve fair compensation. I am also committed to providing that representation at a fair rate.  Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions about my reduced fee program.

/