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Contingency fee agreement questions

Another guide here explains what the clauses mean. This one gives you the words. Six questions, each with the sentence to say out loud, what a straight answer sounds like, and what an evasive one sounds like. Plus one document you are owed at the very end that almost nobody knows to ask for.

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By Michael Mangione, Legal Research Editor Last reviewed August 1, 2026 19 min read
What this gives you
Wording
The sentence to say, not an explanation of the clause.
Why you can ask
Required
The model rule says the agreement must state these things.
The unasked one
If I leave
What the first firm can claim if you change lawyers.
At the very end
A statement
A written accounting of the outcome and the arithmetic.

Before you ask

  • Ask before you sign, not after. Every one of these is easy to raise while a firm still wants your case.
  • Ask for it in the document. A verbal answer that is not in the writing is not the answer that will apply.
  • None of this is rude. These are the terms of a contract. A sound firm expects the questions.
  • Take the agreement away and read it. Anybody who resists that has told you something already.
Editorial content, not legal advice

This guide is written and reviewed by our editorial team to be accurate and current. It is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The rule quoted here is a model, not law in any state. Each state adopts, amends or declines it, and the differences are real, so what your own agreement must contain is a question about your own state's rules. We are a referral service and are paid by attorneys.

01 Why this is not the fees guide

Quick answer

Because that page already exists and explains what each clause means. What it does not give you is the sentence to say when the document is on the table and somebody is waiting. That is what this page is.

Our guide to fees and contingency works through the arithmetic, what can be charged as a cost, and how state rules change things. Read that one to understand the terms. Read this one on the day.

The contingency agreement questions below are written as script rather than as theory, because knowing that a clause matters is not the same as knowing how to raise it without feeling difficult.

Bottom line: the questions are short. It is the answers that tell you what you need to know.

02 What the agreement is required to contain

Quick answer

This is why you are entitled to ask. The model professional conduct rule sets out what a contingent fee agreement must say, and several of the questions below simply ask a firm to show you where in the document it says it.

Worth reading once, because it converts a vague sense that something should be explained into a specific thing you can point at. A contingency fee agreement is a contract like any other, and this is the part that says what it has to contain.

Model rule of professional conduct
What a contingent fee agreement must state
American Bar Association, Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(c)

It provides that A contingent fee agreement shall be in a writing signed by the client and shall state the method by which the fee is to be determined, including the percentage or percentages that shall accrue to the lawyer in the event of settlement, trial or appeal; litigation and other expenses to be deducted from the recovery; and whether such expenses are to be deducted before or after the contingent fee is calculated. It adds that The agreement must clearly notify the client of any expenses for which the client will be liable whether or not the client is the prevailing party. Four separate things, and the last two are the ones people discover afterwards. Read the rule

One caution that matters more than it looks. The Model Rules are not law anywhere. They are a template each state adopts, amends or declines, and the variations are real: Louisiana's version, for instance, adds a requirement that you be handed a copy of the signed agreement at the time you sign it. So treat the text above as what to look for rather than as a rule you can cite at somebody.

03 The order of operations question

Quick answer

The single clause with the largest effect on what reaches you, and the one the rule above specifically requires the agreement to state. Whether costs come off before or after the percentage is calculated changes the number, sometimes substantially.

Say this
Is your percentage calculated on the gross recovery, or after case costs have been taken out? Can you show me where the agreement says which?
A straight answer sounds like

They tell you which, without hesitating, and turn to the clause. Some firms will say plainly that theirs is the less favorable of the two and explain why. That is a fine answer, because you are asking what the document says rather than asking them to change it.

An evasive answer sounds like

It works out about the same either way, or a move to the total figure you might recover. It does not work out the same, which is why the rule requires the agreement to state it. If nobody can find the clause in the document, that is the answer.

Our settlement calculator lets you put your own numbers in and switch that setting, and the gap you see is the value of this one question.

04 The question about losing

Quick answer

No fee unless we win is about the fee. Case costs are a separate item and in a serious claim they are large. The rule requires the agreement to notify you clearly of anything you will be liable for whether or not you win.

Say this
If we lose, do I owe anything at all? Including case costs, not just your fee. Where does the agreement say that?
A straight answer sounds like

A direct yes or no, followed by the clause. Firms differ genuinely here: some absorb costs entirely if a case fails, others do not, and both are legitimate positions provided the document says so plainly and you understood it before signing.

An evasive answer sounds like

We do not really lose these, or that has never come up. Neither answers the question. The point is not how likely it is; the point is what the contract says happens, and you are entitled to know before you sign it.

In a catastrophic case this is the difference between a disappointment and a debt, which is why the rule singles it out.

05 The question about the percentage moving

Quick answer

Many agreements use more than one rate. The rule requires the agreement to state the percentages that apply in the event of settlement, trial or appeal, which means the movement should be written down rather than mentioned.

Say this
Does the percentage change at any point, and what triggers it? Show me the rates for settlement, for trial, and for appeal.
A straight answer sounds like

Specific rates tied to specific events, pointed out in the document. A firm charging more once a case is filed or tried is not doing anything improper; the work and the risk both increase. What matters is that you knew before you signed.

An evasive answer sounds like

A single number given confidently with no mention of tiers, when the agreement in fact contains them. Read the clause yourself. This is the one people are most often surprised by, and the surprise arrives at the end.

06 The question about other firms

Quick answer

Cases move between firms and firms bring in others. That is ordinary. What should not be ordinary is finding out about it afterwards, and the professional rules generally require your agreement to any division of a fee.

Say this
Will any part of your fee be shared with another firm, now or later? And will you tell me in writing before that happens?
A straight answer sounds like

Either no, or a plain description of the arrangement and each firm's share, with an undertaking to confirm it in writing. Referral and co-counsel arrangements are common and legitimate, and a firm that treats the question as normal is telling you it is.

An evasive answer sounds like

Discomfort, or an assurance that it makes no difference to you. It may well make no difference to your total, and you are still entitled to know who is being paid out of your recovery and to agree to it.

Our guide to questions to ask a lawyer covers the wider conversation, of which this is one part.

07 The question almost nobody asks

Quick answer

What happens if you change lawyers partway through. You are generally entitled to do so, but the first firm does not simply disappear, and the arrangement between the two firms is a matter you should understand before you need it.

Say this
If I decide to move my case to another firm, what would you be entitled to claim? Is that in the agreement, and does it come out of my share or the new firm's?
A straight answer sounds like

An acknowledgement that they would have a claim for work done and expenses advanced, a description of how that is usually resolved between firms, and a clause to point at. A firm comfortable answering this is a firm confident you will not want to leave.

An evasive answer sounds like

Treating the question as a sign of bad faith, or telling you it never happens. It happens. Asking about it before signing is exactly the moment to ask, because afterwards you are negotiating from a much weaker position.

Nobody asks this because it feels like planning to leave before you have arrived. It is not. It is reading a clause that is already in the document you are about to sign.

08 The document you are owed at the end

Quick answer

Here is the provision almost nothing published mentions. When a contingent fee matter concludes, the same model rule requires the lawyer to give the client a written statement of the outcome and, where there is a recovery, showing the remittance and how it was worked out.

That is a document, not a conversation, and it should show you the arithmetic rather than a single net figure.

Same rule, second paragraph
A written statement showing the remittance and the method of its determination
American Bar Association, Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(c)

It provides that Upon conclusion of a contingent fee matter, the lawyer shall provide the client with a written statement stating the outcome of the matter and, if there is a recovery, showing the remittance to the client and the method of its determination. Note what that last phrase asks for. Not the number you are being paid, but how it was arrived at: the gross figure, the fee, the costs, and anything repaid out of the recovery, set out so the arithmetic can be followed.

Say this, at the end
Can I have the written statement showing the outcome and how my share was calculated? Not just the net figure, the working.
A straight answer sounds like

An itemized statement, produced without fuss, because a firm that has kept proper records can generate one easily. Many provide it before being asked.

An evasive answer sounds like

A single net number and an offer to talk it through. Talking it through is fine as well as the statement, not instead of it. If deductions cannot be itemized, that is worth pursuing.

09 Red flags

Quick answer

Reluctance to let you take the agreement away, answers that are not in the document, discomfort at any of the six questions, and pressure to sign before you have read it.

None of these requires you to understand contract law. They are about behavior, which anybody can assess.

What the answers are really telling you

You cannot take it away to read. It is a contract you are about to be bound by, and there is no good reason you cannot read it somewhere quiet. The answer is not in the writing. A verbal assurance is not the term that will apply, and asking for it in the document is not distrust. Any of the six questions causes friction. All six are about terms the firm chose to put in its own agreement. Sign today or the deadline passes. Deadlines can be genuinely urgent; a signature this afternoon almost never is. Nobody mentions the statement at the end. Section eight covers a document you are owed, and it should not be a surprise to the firm that you know about it.

A closing word on tone. Every one of these contingency agreement questions is about a term the firm wrote into its own document, and a good firm hears them as a client reading carefully rather than as a challenge. If somebody makes you feel awkward for asking, that reaction is itself one of the more useful answers on this page. You can read how we match people with attorneys, and a free case review costs nothing.

How we vet every lawyer

This is a standard rather than an ordering. An attorney either clears it or does not.

  • Active, discipline-free license

    Verified good standing with the state bar, with no unresolved discipline on record. You can check this yourself too.

  • Hands over the agreement to read

    Without pressure to sign in the room, because it is a contract and you are entitled to read it properly.

  • Answers the money questions from the document

    Pointing at clauses rather than offering assurances, including the order of operations on costs.

  • Clear contingency terms

    Fees and case costs put in writing up front, so you know exactly how it works before signing.

Tell us what happened and we will only match you when a case genuinely fits.

Help in all 50 states

MVA Lawyer Network is a nationwide guide. Wherever it happened, we can connect you with an independent attorney licensed in that state.

Northeast Southeast Midwest Southwest West Coast Mountain West Gulf States Alaska and Hawaii

The rule quoted on this page is a model rather than law. Every state writes its own version and the differences are substantial: whether a copy of the signed agreement must be handed to you at the time of signing, whether any percentage is capped and at what level, what must be disclosed when two firms share a fee and whether your written consent is required, what a firm may claim if you change lawyers partway through, how a fee dispute is resolved and whether arbitration is available, and what the closing statement must itemize all vary between states. Nothing here is a statement about the rules where you live, and nothing here rates or recommends any individual attorney. The deadline for bringing a claim, known as the statute of limitations, is running now.

Sources and authorities

One rule, quoted from the body that publishes it and cross-checked against several state adoptions.

What a contingent fee agreement must contain

  • American Bar Association, Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(c), quoted from the Association's own publication of the Model Rules. Source of the requirement that a contingent fee agreement be in a writing signed by the client stating the method by which the fee is to be determined, including the percentages accruing in the event of settlement, trial or appeal, the litigation and other expenses to be deducted from the recovery, and whether those expenses are deducted before or after the fee is calculated; of the requirement that the agreement clearly notify the client of any expenses for which the client will be liable whether or not the client prevails; and of the requirement that upon conclusion the lawyer provide a written statement of the outcome showing the remittance and the method of its determination. Cross-checked against the versions published by five state bodies. American Bar Association.

A model is not a law, and this matters here. The Model Rules bind nobody by themselves. Each state adopts, amends or declines them, and the variations are not cosmetic. Louisiana's version adds a requirement that a copy or duplicate original of the executed agreement be given to the client at signing, which is a meaningful protection that the model text does not contain. So the quoted rule is a guide to what to look for in your own agreement, not something to cite at a firm as though it governed them.

Why the second paragraph leads section eight. Of everything quoted here, the closing written statement is the least known and among the most useful. It appears nowhere else on this site, and it is a document rather than a conversation: the outcome, and where there is a recovery, the remittance and the method of its determination. A reader who knows to expect it is in a different position from one who is handed a net figure and thanked.

Why this page is a script and not an explanation. Our fees and contingency guide already explains what these clauses mean across twelve sections, and it tells readers that the order-of-operations clause is required to be stated in the agreement and that this guide covers how to raise it. The wording is therefore the deliverable here. Each question is paired with what a straight answer sounds like and what an evasive one sounds like, because in practice the difficulty is rarely understanding the term and almost always finding a way to ask about it.

Our editorial standards

How we keep this guide accurate and worth trusting.

01

We give wording, not theory

The explanation exists elsewhere. What was missing was the sentence to say.

02

We say a model is not law

Three times, because citing it as binding would mislead a reader in any state.

03

We show the good answer too

Several of these have legitimate answers a reader should recognize as fine.

04

We surface the closing statement

A document clients are owed and almost never told to expect.

Michael Mangione, Legal Research Editor
Michael Mangione Verified editor
Legal Research Editor · Founder, The Mangione Group, Inc.

MVA Lawyer Network is edited by Michael Mangione, who has spent more than twelve years working inside contingency-based law firms, building intake departments, designing qualification frameworks, and studying how claims are screened and pursued from the first call through resolution. Almost nobody reads the agreement in the room. The reason is rarely that they do not care; it is that they do not know what to ask, and asking nothing feels less awkward than asking badly.

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Common questions, answered

General information, not legal advice. Professional conduct rules differ by state, so check anything here with an attorney licensed where your case is.

Is it rude to ask these before signing?

No, and a firm's reaction is one of the more useful things you will learn. Every question on this page concerns a term the firm chose to put into its own document, and several concern things the professional rules require the agreement to state. Firms qualify clients carefully and in writing before taking a case. Somebody reading the contract they are about to sign is doing the same thing in the other direction.

Which single question matters most?

The order of operations, in section three: whether the percentage is calculated on the gross figure or after case costs come out. It is the clause with the largest effect on what actually reaches you, the rule specifically requires the agreement to state it, and it is the one most often glossed over with a reassurance that it works out about the same. It does not work out about the same.

Can I take the agreement away and read it?

You can ask, and a sound firm will hand it over. It is a contract that will govern how much of your recovery you keep, and there is no legitimate reason it has to be signed in the room. If a deadline is genuinely close that is a reason to move quickly on the claim, not a reason to sign a fee agreement before reading it. Reluctance here is worth taking seriously.

What is this written statement at the end?

Under the model rule, when a contingent fee matter concludes the lawyer must give the client a written statement of the outcome and, where there is a recovery, showing the remittance and the method of its determination. In plain terms: the arithmetic, not just the net figure. Section eight quotes it. Very few clients know to expect the document, which is why it goes unasked for.

Does the ABA rule apply to my lawyer?

Not directly. The Model Rules are a template, not law anywhere. Each state adopts its own version, and the differences are real rather than cosmetic: Louisiana, for example, requires that a copy of the signed agreement be handed to the client at signing, which the model text does not. So use the quoted rule to know what to look for, and ask an attorney in your own state what applies there.

Is a higher percentage after filing suit a bad sign?

Not in itself. A tiered rate reflects that a case which is filed and tried involves considerably more work and more risk than one that settles early, and many perfectly good firms use them. The rule requires the agreement to state the percentages applying to settlement, trial and appeal. What matters is that the tiers are in the document and that you knew about them before signing rather than at the end.

What if I want to change firms later?

You are generally able to, but the first firm does not simply vanish: it will usually have a claim relating to work done and expenses advanced, and how that is resolved varies by state and by agreement. Section seven gives the wording for raising it before you sign, which is the right moment. Asked afterwards, you are negotiating from a much weaker position, and the question feels far more loaded than it does on day one.

Do I have to pay anything up front?

Injury firms generally work on a contingency basis, meaning the fee is a percentage of what is recovered set out in the written agreement and there is nothing to pay up front. Case costs, meaning experts and records and filing fees, are a separate item from the fee, and the agreement should say plainly who carries them and what happens to them if the case does not succeed.

Is what I tell you private?

Yes. What you share in a case review is kept private and is used only to match you with an attorney who fits your situation. One distinction is worth understanding: true legal confidentiality, called attorney-client privilege, only attaches once you actually have an attorney-client relationship with a lawyer. Submitting a form to a referral service is not the same thing. If that matters to you, raise it directly with the attorney.

What does it cost to use MVA Lawyer Network?

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