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Hi,
I have joined ACTI a month back in Kolkata in L9. I wanted to opt for Company Car Lease policy just to save TAX but finding it too complicated.
I had raised queries to payrole and they have replied with a suggestion to think twice before opting for this benifit.
What do you all suggest, who have already opted for it?Accenture
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I'm not sure I agree with you that taking a case to trial will necessarily enhance it's value but to answer your question... yes, there are PI lawyers who basically just try cases for other firms. Usually, those guys are on their own. Often they also do per diem depositions and court appearances as well and handle a small caseload of their own cases. I think they get between 1/3 and 1/2 of the fee depending on the jurisdiction. I will warn you though... they tend to get tough cases. Nobody's farming a slam dunk out to outside counsel.
I guess it depends on what you consider "a good living." I definitely know people who do it. My own firm occassionally uses outside counsel to try cases. As I mentioned, most of these guys are on their own, so it's not a steady income. They usually have some of their own cases and do some per diem work - which brings in money between contingency fees. You're your own boss, and you probably have little overhead - a subleased office or an of counsel set up with an existing firm is all you need. I would suggest, if this is the route you want to go, that you work a while. Get a bunch of verdicts under your belt and build a good reputation. Get to know people in the courthouse and become involved with your local state trial lawyers organization, since people generally hire people they know. And save as much money as you can so when you go out on your own, you're financially ready, as it can take a while to get a new practice off the ground. Your best bet might be to transition your current employment into an of counsel agreement when you're ready. Often times when you so that you get a built in customer - your old firm - who will give you depositions or trials they can't handle. Alternatively, look for offfice space at a plaintiff's firm. Pre-covid we used to hire our tenants to do per diem work occasionally. Good luck!
And if so, what do fee arrangements for these cases look like? Thanks in advance!
Yes - and the fee arrangement i believe is 33.3% of the fee - but particularly in an environment like we’re in now, these people have little to no work unless they’re doing other things such as working of counsel, doing depositions, etc.
I do Insurance Defense and know some plaintiffs lawyers that act as trial counsel for the “Hammers” I.e. PI firms that market heavily but don’t try cases. They do alright but as stated previously, starting out, you are likely to get the stinkers where liability is disputed and/or nonexistent. On many, best I can do is nuisance value, the rest I try with a moderate level of success. The more experienced trial attorneys I know end up acting as trial counsel for big firms like Frost Brown Todd on high profile wrongful death cases and the like. I kinda wonder why the big firms don’t just try their own. Probably because, while they are experienced litigators, they may not have trial experience. They also may not have time as billable hours are chased in these larger firms more so than large contingency fees. Hope this helps.
I’m a plaintiff PI/PL attorney, and our firm takes on cases as trial counsel. It’s preferable for us to get involved as early as possible after suit, especially if we need to work up experts. But I know our firm has come on as trial counsel very close to trial. Fee split depends on how much work we do vs. the co-counsel. If we work up experts and liability and try the case, etc and co counsel gets to sit back, we want 50-75% of the fee.
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Usually a case can be worked up to the point of filing a lawsuit. Then if it can’t settle, the case gets referred to a litigation lawyer. Those litigation lawyers file a lawsuit and move the case forward. You’re right a small percentage of cases go to trial. There’s a few things to consider as to why that is: trial is expensive, like hundreds of thousands of dollars expensive. Does the firm pay the trial costs? Yes. But those costs are later reimbursed from the plaintiffs recovery. If there is no verdict for the plaintiff - the firm eats that cost and worked for free for about 3ish years and the plaintiff walks away with nothing. Trial is a gamble, no one can be 100% certain what a jury will do and it’s rare to have an open shut case. 99% of the time a client would rather not risk getting nothing. Long story short: trial is risky and expensive. It’s a cost benefit analysis and at the end of the day it’s the plaintiffs money.
Yes. Usually 50% of the fee but will cover all the costs going forward, including experts.
Yes, there are firms who don't have their own cases, but just partner to bring the case to trial. It's difficult to make a good living at this, as you must have a steady flow of cases on which to partner. Sometimes I've seen law firms take a former associate with lots of trial experience as the trial partner.