A vote for contingency fees

The contingency fee is always under attack. Certain groups do not want to see attorneys take cases on a contingency fee. The reasons vary from claims that the attorney gets too much money from the outcome to claims that it increases frivolous lawsuits.

Today, my friends at the Tampa Bay Personal Injury Law blog had an article and excerpts from a report that concludes that the contingency fee should not be capped. Heres why, in a nutshell:

Lets say person A thinks they have a case. They approach a lawyer who takes contingency fees. That lawyer will evaluate the case. The lawyer will only take the case if they lawyer thinks that case has enough merit and potential to make it worth his or her time financially. Lawyers who work on contingency fees do not take cases that are frivolous, usually, or cases that have no value, usually, because then they are not making any money. However, a lawyer who takes a case hourly does not have to be as certain about the value or merit of the case because he will get paid anyway.

Thus, in reality, the contingency fee is a good thing for everyone as it acts as a control on cases that are filed.