A potential client wants to retain me to settle her son’s case and get the settlement approved by a judge. She’s bitten off more than she can chew and defense counsel has urged her to get a lawyer. At a minimum, if retained, I would have to request all bills and lien. Liability limits were tendered before reaching out to me. There’s a possibility she’s left UIM money on the table, though. Would you all charge her the typical 1/3 or a little less?

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We either do a reduction (25%) or a third of whatever was earned over any current offers made. For example, if $10k was already on the table and we’re able to get $15k, then we take a 1/3 of the $5k.

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We just did this for a Client who we knew would get limits because his father passed but Medicare tried to take the whole policy limits. We agreed to do the case on a flat fee of $10,000.00 to get bills, negotiate with Medicare and finalize all liens and assist with estate paperwork. We basically agreed to 10%.

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Charge hourly. Full third when you’re not doing much is a scam

It’s never as simple as potential clients make it seem. I don’t want to charge a third. What percentage would you recommend?

You should charge something. Not a full 1/3

What percentage would you charge?

Charge her by the hour

Yes, and the money owed to me comes out of the settlement. I charged $250 an hour when I did this. Consisted of drafting the infant compromise order and appearing in court on her behalf.

Charge her by the hour AND DEDUCT IT FROM THE RECOVERY.

Have you actually done this before? What was your hourly rate?

I was thinking of reducing the fee to 25%. I don’t want to have to keep track of time by going the hourly route.

It’s not a contingency matter if you charge hourly. Deduct it from the recovery. Set the rate based on how much is at issue. If a minimum limit policy has been tendered, figure out if there is UIM or not. If yes and you’ll have to litigate, contingency makes sense. If no or it’s minimal, set an appropriate rate. 30k limits vs million is very different.

Set the rate based on your jurisdiction. What is 300 hourly in one place is sky high compared to others.

Explain how this is better for the client and will result in a better net recovery for them. Deduct it from the recovery. When explaining that, I’ve never had a client be upset they got more money.

Charge your usual fee and if you want to offer a discount do it in exchange for a release at the end of the matter, considering your jurisdiction’s ethics rules and law.

Your duties don’t change because she’s done some of the work and, in reality, your risk profile likely increases.

I represent solo to mid-sized law firms as outside General Counsel, DM me if you’d like to chat!

A release of all claims - like the settlement of any litigation. I urge lawyer-clients to always offer them for a discount at the end of every matter. You need to meet all of the jurisdictional requirements for contracting with clients but generally they’re appropriate.

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