Contingency fees offer personal injury clients a valuable advantage. They enable anyone who suffers an injury to bring a lawsuit without having the money up-front to pay an attorney.
With contingency fees, attorneys agree to accept a portion of the recovery and agree that if the client does not win and there is no recovery, there will be no fee.
Contingency fees give everyone–regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, age, or other factors–an equal chance to have their day in court, no matter what their financial resources may be. Individuals with limited assets can sue the richest most powerful corporations, which often have unlimited money for legal defense fees.
It also promotes efficiency and discourages frivolous lawsuits by motivating lawyers to make sure that the cases they accept have legitimacy and merit. It discourages wrongdoers from continuing inappropriate behaviors.