When you agree to pay a lawyer on contingency it actually means that you, i.e. the plaintiff agrees that the attorney you are hiring will be paid a certain percentage of the settlement you are awarded as his or her fee. So this means that the lawyer only gets paid if you win the case and are awarded a settlement which means that the attorney will work as hard as he or she can to ensure that you win the case.

However, hiring a lawyer on contingency basis is not a free ride so even though you are not paying his fee you are still paying the expenses that the attorney will incur during the course of pursuing your case in court. Expenses will include things such as hiring an investigative service, getting medical reports, getting expert witnesses to testify in your behalf, paying the court reporter fee and other court costs. The only thing you do not pay when you hire a lawyer on a contingency basis is for his time and his labor if he loses the case. In the event that you do win the case you will have to pay for the expenses that the lawyer incurs so regardless whether you win or lose the costs of taking your case to the court does cost you out of your own pocket.

When you strike an agreement with a lawyer to pay based on a contingency basis, the fee is then prearranged, which is usually just a percentage of whatever you are awarded. For a lawyer working on a contingency basis means the potential to earn much more than he otherwise would if he was paid his normal fee, which is definitely an added incentive.

Probably, the only downside of hiring a lawyer on contingency is the fact that you are giving up a sizable chunk of your settlement. However, given the fact that this is the only way to get a good lawyer to represent you short of paying their fee, which can be expensive so its definitely a good deal.