What it costs to change lawyers mid-case

The fear that stops people from switching is that they will pay twice. In a contingency case, that is not how it works. You pay one fee. The lawyers sort out how to divide it.

This page is the money side. The process of switching is switching personal injury lawyers; the steps to end the first representation are how to fire your personal injury lawyer.

One fee, divided

Both firms in a switched case are working on contingency.

We work on a contingency fee, meaning no attorney's fee unless we recover for you. Clients remain responsible for case costs advanced, including if there is no recovery.

When the case resolves, the single contingency fee is split between the firm that started the case and the firm that finished it, in proportion to the work and responsibility each carried. The two firms negotiate that split. If they cannot agree, a court sets it. Either way, your total fee is the same fee you agreed to at the start.

The prior firm's lien

A firm you discharge from a contingency case does not get its full contract percentage. It is generally entitled to quantum meruit — the reasonable value of the work it actually performed — and that right does not mature unless and until you recover.

Sources: Fracasse v. Brent (1972) 6 Cal.3d 784; Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 1.5 (fees) and rule 1.5.1 (division of a fee among lawyers not in the same firm).

How it is paid

The old firm records a lien against the case. Nothing comes out of your pocket at the time of the switch. At settlement or judgment, the recovery is used to pay, in the usual order: case costs advanced, medical and insurance liens, and the attorney fee — which is the one fee, divided between the firms. If there is no recovery, there is generally no attorney fee for either firm, though you may still owe costs under your agreements.

When switching does cost you something

• Time. A new firm needs time to learn the file, and a switch late in a case compresses that.
• A harder lien fight. If the prior firm did substantial work, resolving how the fee is divided can take longer.
• Cost duplication. Some work — re-reviewing records, re-interviewing witnesses — may be repeated, and repeated costs come out of the case.

Common questions

Do I pay two full contingency fees if I switch?

No. The client pays one contingency fee. When two firms have worked the case, they divide that one fee between them based on the work each did. If they cannot agree, a court decides the split; the client’s total does not go up.

What is the old firm entitled to?

A firm discharged from a contingency case is generally paid in quantum meruit — the reasonable value of the work it actually did — and that claim ripens only if you recover (Fracasse v. Brent (1972) 6 Cal.3d 784).

Do I have to pay the old firm now?

Usually not. The old firm asserts a lien, which is paid out of the recovery at the end, alongside medical liens and costs. If there is no recovery, there is generally no fee to either firm.

What about the costs the old firm already spent?

Costs the prior firm advanced — records, filing fees, expert charges — are typically reimbursed from the recovery, the same way they would have been if you never switched.