Should You Hire a "No Win, No Fee" Lawyer?

If you are looking to take legal action for medical negligence, personal injury, or for a worker's compensation claim, you should look into hiring a "no win, no fee" lawyer. The payment terms for such lawyers are purely on a contingent basis. Such an arrangement stipulates that you won't have to pay a penny if you do not win any compensation for a claim. Only if your claim is successful, you'll need to pay for the costs and expenses.  

Finding a lawyer that takes cases on a contingency basis

Attorneys who work on a contingency basis will only charge you a fee if they win the case at the end of the claim process. In such a scenario, an attorney who works on a contingency basis will review the potential client's case without charging any money. If they decide to proceed, they'll do so with the understanding that this will be a "no win no fee" situation. However, before hiring such a lawyer, you should consider the pros and cons. Let's look at what they are.

This is probably the most significant advantage of going with a "no-win no-fee" lawyer. You need to pay only if you win your compensation claim and don't have to pay anything if you lose. The lawyer assumes all the risk. 

b) Pro: You will get access to justice if you are short of cash 

If you lack the money to pay a lawyer's deposit, such an arrangement will give you access to justice. So, in theory, everybody can pursue a compensation claim. For example, if you are considering hiring a workers compensation attorney in Wisconsin, then you will get access to justice without worrying about your financial situation.

Since it's in the lawyer's interest to identify appropriate cases that will likely succeed, they will be incentivized to prosecute your case competently. After all, they won't get paid if they don't win. Hence, you can be reasonably sure that lawyers that operate in this manner will be reasonably good at their job. This is a significant advantage for you in cases like being injured on the job and not knowing your legal rights.

A "no win no fee" lawyer will steer clear of cases that look like they may fail, preferring to take up only those cases that have a likelihood of succeeding. While such selectivity makes a contingency arrangement viable, it does mean that if your case is not that strong, such a lawyer may not work with you.

Just because you aren't responsible for your lawyer's fees if you lose a case in such an arrangement doesn't mean that you won't be liable for other costs associated with your case. Examples are costs for expert reports, printing and copying, investigations, and court fees. In all probability, you'll be liable to pay these costs whether you win or lose the case.

Even if your lawyer doesn't charge you any legal fees unless you win the case, the legal team representing the opposite party may request you to cover their legal fees and all costs associated with the court case. However, such a situation is likely to occur only if the case actually goes to court and doesn't get settled by both parties.

If you decide to go with a "no win no fee" lawyer, and he agrees to represent you, the lawyer will prepare a contingent fee agreement for you to sign. You'll get a free lawyer consultation to assess how likely your claim is to succeed legally. And that is a significant advantage for you. However, be sure to read the agreement carefully to be aware of what costs you'll be liable to pay whether you win or lose.