Legal

Match the practice area, verify the licence and discipline record with the state’s highest court, interview more than one, and get the fee in writing. The ABA’s own guidance gives you a checklist most people never use.

Most personal injury lawyers work on contingency, commonly around 33% if the case settles before a lawsuit and 40% once it is filed. But the percentage is only half the arithmetic — case costs, and whether they come out before or after the fee, decide what you actually keep.