Meaning & use
contingent fee
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablelegalbusiness
A payment to a lawyer that is made only if the case is won or settled successfully, usually a percentage of the money won.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a contingent fee' or 'contingent fees' when talking about more than one.
Patterns
- work on a contingent fee
- charge a contingent fee
- a contingent fee arrangement
The law firm agreed to take the case on a contingent fee.
Under a contingent fee, the client pays nothing if they lose.
Many personal injury lawyers work on a contingent fee basis.
Word forms
| plural | contingent fees |
|---|
Common combinations
- work on a contingent fee
- She prefers to work on a contingent fee so clients can afford to sue.
- charge a contingent fee
- The attorney will charge a contingent fee of thirty percent.
- contingent fee agreement
- Read the contingent fee agreement before you sign it.
- contingent fee basis
- They handle most cases on a contingent fee basis.
Synonyms and how they differ
- contingency fee
- A common variant with the same meaning; 'contingent fee' is slightly more formal and often used in legal writing.
- success fee
- Used mainly in British English for a bonus paid on winning, not necessarily the whole payment.
Word family
- contingency noun
- A possible future event or condition; also used in 'contingency fee'.
Commonly confused: contingent fee or contingency fee? contingent fee or retainer?
contingent fee vs contingency fee
This is just another name for the same thing. 'Contingent fee' is the adjective form; both are correct.
contingent fee vs retainer
A retainer is money paid to a lawyer in advance, regardless of the outcome, unlike a contingent fee.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'contingent fee' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A contingent fee is paid only if the case succeeds. Option 1 describes an advance payment (a retainer), option 2 describes a monthly fee (a retainer or hourly fee), and option 3 confuses it with a court fee.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contingent fee”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.