A recent study from NYU Law School’s The Center for Justice and Democracy (CJ&D), “Courthouse Cornerstone: Contingency Fees and Their Importance for Everyday Americans (pdf),” finds that the contingency fee system provide everyday Americans with access to justice and prevents meritless cases from clogging the courts because contingency fee lawyers front litigation expenses and are not paid unless the case is successful.
“Contingency fee attorneys are outcome-focused, not time focused,” notes CJ&D. “Their interest is to work hard and achieve the best possible results from their clients in timely efficient manner.” There are three main societal functions of the contingency fee system:
- Contingency Fees Provide Everyday People With Access to the Courts;
- Contingency Fees Screen out Meritless Cases; and
- Contingency Fees Align Attorney-Client Interests and Promote Efficiency of Judicial Resources.
The study directly counters the tort reform lobby who seek government-imposed wage and price controls, interfering directly with the right of citizens to contract in a private contingency fee relationship and turn a free-market approach to providing legal representation into a botched system of government regulation that harms injured victims’ quest for justice.
“There are legislative efforts underway from the tort reform lobby to undermine our contingency fee system,” said Terry Jesse, Executive Director of NALFA. “At NALFA, we are committed to strengthening our long-standing contingency fee system and oppose efforts to place statutory limits on contingency fees. We look forward to working with other like-minded groups to ensure a strong contingency fee system,” Jesse concluded.