See the lawyer's percentage fee and what you keep after case expenses are repaid from a settlement or award.
Use this calculator to check the arithmetic in a contingency fee agreement or a settlement closing statement. Enter the gross amount recovered, the percentage in your agreement and the case expenses the lawyer advanced and will be reimbursed from the recovery.
This tool calculates the fee on the gross recovery, which is the most common approach: fee = gross x percentage, and net = gross - fee - expenses. With the default inputs, a $60,000 settlement at 33.33% gives a fee of about $20,000; subtracting $3,500 of expenses leaves about $36,500 for you. These numbers are illustrative.
Some agreements deduct expenses before the percentage is applied, which leaves you more. In the same example, (60,000 - 3,500) x 33.33% = about $18,830 in fees and about $37,670 for you, roughly $1,170 more. Professional conduct rules based on ABA Model Rule 1.5(c) require a contingency agreement to be in writing and to say which method applies, so check that clause.
The calculator does not include medical liens, health plan reimbursement claims, taxes or a referral fee split between firms (which should not raise your total fee). For a real settlement, ask for the written closing statement the rules require and reconcile it line by line.
Fee Disputes, Mistakes and Official Help
You can change lawyers at almost any time. Learn what you owe the first lawyer, how contingency fees are split, attorney liens, retainer refunds and getting your file.
Fee Structures and Cost Drivers
How contingency fee agreements work in the U.S., what the rules require, where they are banned or capped, and how expenses change what you keep.
