A contingency fee is a payment system where lawyers do not charge for their services unless they collect damages for a client. This means you pay nothing for meetings with a lawyer, the time they spend preparing your case for court, or the time they spend during trial. When your case is resolved, your lawyer is paid a percentage of your award or settlement. If you do receive financial compensation, you are not billed for the attorney’s time and the attorney receives no payment. You are responsible, however, for paying the costs incurred for litigating the case—e.g., service of process, postage, depositions, copying, experts, etc.

An hourly fee is just as it sounds—you are billed a certain amount of money for each hour a lawyer works on your case.

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