Contingency Fee Attorney Cost Calculator — 33% vs 40% Net to Plaintiff
See exactly how much you keep after a 33.33% (pre-suit) or 40% (post-suit) attorney contingency fee on your settlement. Includes case costs, medical liens, and timing of fee calculation (gross vs net of costs). Free.
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How contingency fee structures work
A contingency fee is a percentage of the recovery that an attorney earns only if they win the case. The American Bar Association's Model Rule 1.5 governs contingency fees and requires they be reasonable and in writing. The standard rate in personal injury cases is 33.33% (one-third) for cases that settle before a lawsuit is filed, escalating to 40% after litigation begins and 45% for cases tried or appealed. Some firms use a single flat 40% from day one; others use sliding scales for very large settlements.
The biggest hidden cost is the fee calculation method. Gross fee means the attorney's percentage is calculated on the entire settlement before subtracting costs — on a $100,000 settlement with $3,500 costs and 33.33% fee, the attorney earns $33,333. Net fee means the percentage is calculated after subtracting costs — the attorney earns 33.33% of ($100K - $3.5K) = $32,167. The $1,167 difference is small per case but adds up over hundreds of cases. Always check the engagement letter for the method.
State-by-state contingency fee caps
Several states cap or regulate contingency fees in specific case types. Florida Bar Rule 4-1.5(f)(4)(B) requires a court-approved sliding scale in personal injury: 33.33% on first $1M, 30% next $1M, 20% above. California MICRA (medical malpractice only) caps fees at 40% of first $50K, 33.33% of next $50K, 25% of next $500K, 15% above $600K. New York uses a sliding scale in medical malpractice from 30% to 10%. New Jersey court rule R. 1:21-7 has a sliding scale starting at 33.33% reducing for larger recoveries.
Most other states allow flat-rate contingency fees with no statutory cap, subject only to the "reasonable fee" requirement under Model Rule 1.5 factors: time and labor, novelty, customary fee, amount involved and results obtained, time limitations, nature of attorney-client relationship, attorney experience, and whether the fee is fixed or contingent. A 40% fee on a simple slip-and-fall that settles in 60 days could be challenged as unreasonable; the same 40% on a 3-year products liability trial usually survives challenge.
Medical liens and lien reduction
After the attorney fee, the next biggest deduction is medical liens. Health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, ERISA self-funded plans, and hospital liens all claim reimbursement from the settlement. A $100K settlement with $15K Medicare lien, $5K hospital lien, and $10K private health insurance lien leaves only $70K before attorney fee. The plaintiff's attorney's job is to negotiate these down — common reductions include:
The Ahlborn allocation (US Supreme Court, 2006) requires state Medicaid to accept the medical share of the settlement, not the gross. The common-fund doctrine allows attorneys to reduce non-statutory liens (private insurance) by the plaintiff's pro-rata cost of obtaining the recovery (fees + costs / total settlement). The 42 CFR 411.37 Medicare procurement-cost reduction reduces Medicare's lien by the same ratio. Nolo's guide notes that effective lien negotiation can recover 30%-66% of the asserted lien amount.
Sources: ABA Model Rule 1.5, americanbar.org Standing Committee on Lawyers\' Professional Liability, Florida Bar Rule 4-1.5, California MICRA fee cap (Bus & Prof Code 6146), nolo.com contingency fee guides. Last updated: May 2026.