A contingency fee, or “no win, no fee” arrangement, means your lawyer is paid a percentage of what you recover, not an hourly rate, and you owe no attorney fee without a settlement or verdict. Oklahoma law caps the fee at fifty percent of net recovery under 5 O.S. § 7, though most injury lawyers charge less.
What Does “No Win, No Fee” Mean?
Under a contingency fee agreement, your attorney’s payment depends on winning your case. If we recover money for you through a settlement or a jury verdict, our fee comes out of that recovery. If we don’t, you owe nothing for our time. That arrangement shifts the financial risk of pursuing a claim from you to the law firm, which is why most Oklahoma personal injury lawyers, including our attorneys at Hasbrook & Hasbrook, take cases on contingency instead of billing by the hour, a structure the Cornell Law School Wex overview of contingency fees explains in more general terms.
What Percentage Will My Lawyer Take?
Most Oklahoma personal injury lawyers charge between 33% and 40% of the amount recovered, often tied to how far the case goes: a smaller share when a claim settles before a lawsuit is filed, more once litigation and trial preparation begin. Our contingency fee is 25% when your case settles before a lawsuit is filed, and on any settlement our fee is never more than what you take home after medical bills and case costs are paid. Oklahoma law sets the outer limit at fifty percent (50%) of the net amount recovered under 5 O.S. § 7. Your written fee agreement should state the exact percentage and how it’s calculated before you sign; Oklahoma’s Rule 1.5(c) of the Rules of Professional Conduct requires the agreement to be in writing and signed by the client. For a broader look at how these percentages compare to other legal fee structures, see our breakdown of what personal injury lawyers charge.
Are There Hidden Costs in a Contingency Fee Case?
The percentage you agree to covers attorney fees, not case costs. Costs are the separate, out-of-pocket expenses of building a case: court filing fees, expert witness charges, deposition transcripts, and medical record requests. Most firms, ours included, advance these costs and recover them from the settlement once the case resolves, rather than billing the client along the way. Ask your lawyer in writing whether costs are deducted before or after the fee is calculated, since that changes what you take home. We break down typical litigation expenses in our overview of what it costs to file a personal injury lawsuit in Oklahoma City.
What Happens If I Don’t Win?
If your case does not result in a settlement or verdict, you owe no attorney fee under a true contingency agreement. At Hasbrook & Hasbrook, that promise covers costs too: you pay nothing up front, and you owe no fees and no case costs unless we recover money for you. Other firms handle advanced costs differently, so ask this directly before signing: some firms absorb advanced costs on a loss, some require repayment, and some fall in between depending on the expense. That single clause matters more than the headline percentage when you’re comparing firms.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign
A short list of questions upfront tells you more than any advertisement. Bring these to your free consultation:
- What percentage do you charge, and is it tiered by case stage?
- Is the percentage taken before or after case costs are deducted?
- If we don’t win, do I owe back the costs you advanced?
- Will the fee agreement be in writing before I’m asked to sign anything?
A firm that answers each of these plainly, before you commit to anything, is telling you something about how it will handle the rest of your case. Fee agreements are also governed by the professional conduct rules the Oklahoma Bar Association enforces against every licensed attorney in the state.
Free Consultation, No Fee Unless We Recover for You
Hasbrook & Hasbrook offers free consultations, and like nearly every personal injury firm in Oklahoma, we work on contingency: no fee unless we recover money for you. Call (405) 605-2426 or get a free walkthrough of the fee agreement before you sign anything.
