What is a contingency fee?

Transcript:

This is Jim Parish of the Parish law firm in Manassas Virginia. People often come to my office and ask the question: “what is contingency fee?”

The contingency fee is the type of fee structure under which most personal injury cases are handled. What it means simply is that if there is no recovery in the case, that is, if there is no money obtained, either through a settlement or through a court judgment, then the injured person, the client, does not owe the attorney anything for his time. If there is a recovery, then the attorney will be entitled to a percentage of that recovery. The standard percentage in Virginia is 1/3 of anything that is recovered. I hope this information has been helpful.