In a typical amusement park injury, the
lawyer agrees to take a percentage of the monetary recovery he or she ultimately obtains for you as a result of negotiation or trial. The lawyer gets nothing unless he or she wins. Payment comes from the winnings. This is called a "
contingency fee".
There is no absolute standard for contingency fees. The amount an attorney will charge will depend on the amount of legal work involved, the attorney’s expertise in the field, the complexity of the matter, research, interviews, discovery, etc. Unlike other professionals, much of the work involved is accomplished when the client is not present.
All attorney fees are negotiable. And as with any negotiation, whether an attorney will be willing to charge a lower percentage will depend in large part on the strength and value of your case and the experience and reputation of the attorney. In most cases, win or lose, you will pay the expenses, such as court transcripts, expert witness fees, photocopying, research.
Billing options can be creative. For example, you could propose monthly bills or because your case could drag on for several years, you should negotiate a tiered fee so that you pay increasing percentages as your case progresses towards trial. For example, you would only pay 25% if your case settles before trial, 33% if it goes to trial and 40% if it goes up on appeal.