Quote:
Originally Posted by GP_Matt
Does anyone have any idea how money this is about? The lawsuit was for 3 billion, does the lawyer charge 10 percent?
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Contingency agreements can be for whatever percentage the parties agree upon. Industry standard is about 33-40% in contingency cases but that is when the claims are most often in the lower tens of thousands in terms of value.
When the claim is in the billions, you would expect the contingency percentage to drop, unless extraordinary resources are required. In this case, certainly extraordinary resources are required, but compared to the pay off at the end, there really isn't much of a gamble here. This is pretty much a guaranteed windfall against defendants with deep pockets.
You'd have to consider the costs of carrying the litigation (paying your lawyers knowing you won't be paid for many years), and the costs of hiring experts. In that vein, the agreement could provide that the Province pays for expenses such as experts and the firm only fronts the labour... who knows.