My settlement came to be $15,000. The attorney’s fee is 33 1/3% of net recovery. I have a medical lien of $4000. Why does my invoice say I have to pay him $6670 ?

The lawyer is only going to issue the client’s portion of the settlement to the client ($10,000) but usually after deducting the costs/fees from. So 15000 - 5000 - 6670 = 3370. So yeah, if the medical bills weren’t covered by the other party’s insurance then yeah, OP gets the shit end. It’s not unethical on its face, it’s an insufficient settlement.

OP can (and should) ask for a detailed bill that breaks down the costs and fees to see what is actually being charged. If the entire cost of the case (lawyer fees/costs) is $6670, that’s not a huge attorney bill considering normal case costs, especially if a case drags on for months/years. Yes, it seems high compared to the recovery, but the client agreed to settle...

Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like this was the best case to get an attorney involved in, or the fee agreement is super lawyer friendly and the client didn’t shop around.

/r/legaladvice Thread Parent