For the vast majority of the cases handled by Foley & Small, the fee is structured as a contingent fee. What that means is Foley & Small is only paid if we are successful in obtaining a recovery for you. If a recovery is obtained, then Foley & Small is paid a percentage of that recovery.

The contingency, therefore, in the contingent fee agreement is a successful recovery for the client. If Foley & Small does not obtain a recovery, then Foley & Small is paid no fee. The client has no obligation to pay a fee out of the client’s pocket. In addition, Foley & Small covers all of the up front, out-of-pocket expenses in handling the case. These expenses can run from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. The expenses include obtaining copies of medical records, investigation fees, expert witness fees, court fees, court reporter fees and other expenses. Out-of-pocket expenses are recovered by Foley & Small from any successful outcome obtained for the client. Only necessary expenses are incurred. Foley & Small earns nothing on those expenses. The great advantage to the client is that there is no out-of-pocket cost the client must pay for these expenses. Foley & Small covers all of them up front.

The bottom line with a contingent fee arrangement is that the client never has to worry about paying any of the fees or expenses out of the client’s own pocket. Recovery by Foley & Small of its fee and expense occurs only from a successful recovery obtained for the client.

The percentage charged by Foley & Small for its fee can vary. The standard fee agreement is for one-third of the recovery obtained for the client. However, Foley & Small often reduces its fee depending upon the particular circumstances of the case. In addition, even after a fee agreement is reached early on in the case, if circumstances later warrant a further reduction of the fee, Foley & Small will make such reduction. In all cases, Foley & Small guarantees that their clients will obtain a greater net recovery than any fee received by Foley & Small. In the vast majority of cases, the client’s recovery is far greater than any attorney’s fee to be paid on a case. It is the philosophy of Foley & Small that the case is the client’s. It was the client that suffered the injuries and losses and it is the client that should always make the greatest recovery for any such losses sustained and endured.

Foley & Small also handles a small number of cases on an hourly fee basis or on a fixed fee basis. Such fee arrangements are typically reached on special or unique litigation matters. For an hourly rate fee agreement, the client is charged a specific hourly rate. Foley & Small will generate billing documents which reflect the specific amount of time spent on the file or task performed. For a fixed fee arrangement, the client agrees to pay a fixed fee mutually agreed upon for the complete handling and disposition of the file regardless of the outcome. If you have further questions regarding the fixed fee or hourly rate fee agreements, please contact Foley & Small.