They signed onto division of a fixed pool of money. If some people got less than predicted, others must have more. Those with less get attention.

As for the costs and fees, the example in the NY Post article shows the law firm taking a 31% cut which may be grossly excessive for this case but is not at all unusual in personal injury lawsuits in general.

Actually the fees sound generous for personal injury. In this state, attorney's normally get 30-50% after legal fees depending if a case has to be filed and taken to jury. People need to understand that legal fees are not attorney's fees, they are the actual cost associated with prosecuting a claim and the cost are carried by the law firm but they are also cost the plaintiff owes if they receive a recovery. If there is no recovery then the firm is out the actual cost.

mauricecano

I thought the 1/3 or whatever contingency fee was supposed to pay for all costs borne by the law form except for court filing fees, i.e. it's 33% plus "court costs" not 33% plus court costs plus office overhead plus legwork. I read somewhere that lawyers were not allowed to cover their clients' filing fees. That rule may vary from state to state.

but are the bankers and wall street ok? I mean...we can't have anything happen to the important people, right?

God knows...we have to have our priorities straight!

ZAZ: mauricecano

I thought the 1/3 or whatever contingency fee was supposed to pay for all costs borne by the law form except for court filing fees, i.e. it's 33% plus "court costs" not 33% plus court costs plus office overhead plus legwork. I read somewhere that lawyers were not allowed to cover their clients' filing fees. That rule may vary from state to state.

Varies per state, in GA attorney's in personal injury are expected to cover everything. The only things we cannot cover is medical treatment fees (and there are ways around that). Most doctors end up taking anywhere between 20-80% off their medical bills as well in order to get a settlement in most cases, better to have some from the recovery than nothing and scuttle the deal. Chrio's always take only 50% and inflate their fees accordingly.

In contingency cases, the contingency fee is for attorney's fee in handling the case and taking the risk. It is stated up front that the cost associated with handling the case are billed separately and the responsibility of the client. Contingency doesn't just cove the attorney's time but also represents a fee taken by the attorney on the risk of success or failure as if the case is decided against them they collect nothing as attorney's will eat the legal fees as well.

In a personal injury car crash here are some basic fees BEFORE filing: PI to take pictures of the scene and take any relevant measurements; medical record copies of treatment which range from $0.25-$1/page and more if you need certified copies; deposition of opposing driver (court reporter time + transcript cost) if the insurance company is stonewalling (common to reject all claims first time around); witness fees; and if serious injury you will need a medical expert to detail injuries and future treatment needs; all of this generates a large amount of travel, copies, postage, etc.

Now in the above scenario alone, you are looking at a minimum of $500-$2000 without the medical expert; when you add in the medical expert the fees really start to skyrocket. Now add in hearings, the transportation cost is not free and if you need an assistant that will be billed as well as most contingencies only cover the attorney work, not the assistants. Suddenly you've added $400-$2000 for each hearing depending on the length and what you need at the hearing. You are responsible for providing copies of all your evidence to the court as well and opposing counsel which is more copy cost.

So if you have a $15,000 settlement with a 30% contingency. The attorney's contingency fee is $4,500 but there is probably $1000-$5000 in legal fees paid out as well. Should the attorney's fee be essentially reduced or eliminated because of the legal fees? No, the attorney put in the hours for the work and should be paid as they did their job and provided you with recovery. You should rightfully have to pay for all legal fees paid on your behalf to get to that point. Does it reduce your recovery? Yes it does but it isn't unfair and the attorney isn't getting richer or making more by having the legal fees paid as they already paid those out, they are being made whole.

You'll also find that many attorneys will reduce their contingency in the end in order to provide more recovery to the client if fees are exceedingly high. At least many of the colleagues I know will.

Weaver95: but are the bankers and wall street ok? I mean...we can't have anything happen to the important people, right?

God knows...we have to have our priorities straight!

Truly the victims in this tragedy.

mauricecano: Chrio's always take only 50% and inflate their fees accordingly.

= Chiropractors? Up here some chiropractors and lawyers went to prison a few years ago for insurance fraud. People injured in staged crashes would seek expensive treatment for hard to disprove injuries. The state cracked down after a grandmother died in a staged crash.

Under my state's law insurance companies can be ordered to pay triple damages if they refuse to settle a case where liability is clear. We have no-fault for minor personal injuries and a good rate of underinsured motorist coverage. I think we have fewer car accidents going to court when no pedestrians are involved. I don't have stats to back that up.

What makes the WTC cut excessive is the limited nature of the factual dispute and the large number of individual cases being merged. The lawyer did not have to go to court in each case and prove the whole chain of events behind 9/11, then repeat the job for the next client.

9/11 families and 9/11 first responders are not the same thing, subby.

TravisBickle62: Damn, it must suck to get free money

I'm guessing all of them would rather not have the money if they could have a refund on the price they paid to have it.