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Changes
→3. Contingency fees
Contingency fees depend (or are contingent) on whether you win your case. If you win, you pay your lawyer part of the money you get. If you lose, you don’t pay your lawyer any fee, but you still pay expenses, such as medical reports and court filing fees.
Contingency fees are most common in personal injury and wrongful death cases from motor vehicle accidents. In these cases, the maximum fee is one-third of the amount recovered. In other cases involving personal injury or wrongful death, the maximum is 40%. These maximums are set by Part 8 of the Law Society Rules, available on the Law Society website ([http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca www.lawsociety.bc.ca]) under “[httphttps://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=934097&t=Publications PublicationsLaw-Society-Rules-2015-Part-8-%E2%80%93-Lawyers%E2%80%99-Fees Part 8 of the Law Society Rules]”. There are no maximums for other types of cases.
Contingency fee agreements must be in writing. Contingency fees are not allowed in family law cases involving child custody or access.