Contingency Contract Authorization

What Is This Contingency Fee Contract?

The blank on this page is a sample attorney contingency fee contract for a California personal injury claim, prepared by a law office (Law Offices of Daniel H. Alexander, PLC). Under a contingency fee agreement the client hires a lawyer whose fee depends on the outcome: the fee is a share of any recovery, and the agreed costs are reimbursed from the recovery first. It is not a behavioral or business-risk contract.

What the Contract Covers

• Matter covered: the personal injury claim and the date of the accident.
• Services: prosecuting the claim to judgment in the trial court and opposing a motion for new trial; appeals and enforcement are not covered.
• Association of other counsel and division of fees, which under California rules requires the client's written consent after full written disclosure.
• No guarantee as to the result or the amount recovered.
• Litigation costs: advanced by the attorney and reimbursed from the recovery before fees are distributed.
• The fee percentages, signatures and the other terms printed in the remaining sections.

California has specific requirements for contingency fee contracts (Business and Professions Code section 6147), so a client should read every term and may ask a lawyer of their own choice to review it before signing.