Indiana Contingency Fees, Explained
Most charge about one third of the recovery, and many agreements rise to 40% once a lawsuit is filed. Some firms charge less. Indiana sets no standard percentage for an ordinary injury case — only that the fee be reasonable.
Kavanagh Injury Law charges a flat 20%. Pre-suit, through trial, through appeal.
Attorney’s fees only, at the typical one-third rate compared with ours.
| Recovery | Typical Firm (33%) | Kavanagh (20%) | You Keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | You pay $8,250 | You pay $5,000 | $3,250 more |
| $50,000 | You pay $16,500 | You pay $10,000 | $6,500 more |
| $100,000 | You pay $33,000 | You pay $20,000 | $13,000 more |
| $250,000 | You pay $82,500 | You pay $50,000 | $32,500 more |
Hypothetical figures, attorney’s fees only. Case costs and any medical liens are separate and come out of the recovery. No result is guaranteed.
And if the case has to be filed, a typical agreement steps up to 40%. On a $100,000 recovery that is $40,000 in fees instead of $20,000. Our 20% does not move when the case does.
Three things decide what a percentage really costs you, and only one of them is the percentage.
A contingency fee means the lawyer is paid a share of what is recovered instead of an hourly rate. The number most people hear is one third. What they often do not hear is that many agreements contain a step-up: the fee rises, commonly to 40%, once a lawsuit is filed or the case is tried. That single clause can be worth more than the difference between two firms’ headline rates.
A case has expenses — filing fees, medical records, deposition transcripts, expert witnesses. Whether the attorney’s percentage is calculated on the gross recovery or on the amount left after those expenses come out changes the real number, sometimes by thousands of dollars, without changing the percentage at all. Two firms quoting the same rate can cost you different amounts for this reason alone.
“No fee unless you win” is a statement about the fee. Expenses are a separate question, and firms handle them differently — some bill the client for advanced costs even after a loss. Indiana requires the answer to be in your agreement, in writing, before you sign, so check it.
Our answer is zero. If we do not recover anything for you, you owe us nothing — not the fee, and not the case expenses. We advance every cost and we absorb them if the case does not succeed. (Ind. R. Prof. Cond. 1.8(e)(1) permits a lawyer to advance litigation costs with repayment contingent on the outcome. Ours is.)
The attorney’s fee is one of three things, which is why a percentage alone never tells you what you take home.
The attorney’s fee
The contingency percentage. Ours is 20% and does not change with the stage of the case.
Case expenses
Filing fees, records, deposition transcripts, experts. Separate from the fee, and detailed in the fee agreement before you sign.
Medical liens
Providers and health insurers may hold a claim against the recovery. Negotiating these down is often worth more than a point of fee.
This is also why we do not advertise a take-home number. What you actually keep depends on your expenses and your liens, not on arithmetic anyone can do from a percentage. What we can tell you is which part of it we control: our fee, and how hard we work the liens.
Under Ind. R. Prof. Cond. 1.5(c), a contingent fee agreement must be in writing, signed by you, and must state each of the following. If you are comparing lawyers, this is the checklist — and the answers are already in the document.
The percentage for settlement, trial, and appeal
The rule requires the agreement to state “the percentage or percentages that shall accrue to the lawyer in the event of settlement, trial or appeal.” Plural, on purpose. If there is only one number in that sentence, the fee does not escalate. If there are three, it does.
Which expenses are deducted from the recovery
The agreement must identify “litigation and other expenses to be deducted from the recovery.”
Whether expenses come out before or after the fee is calculated
Named explicitly in the rule, because it changes the money. This is the term most people never think to ask about.
What you owe if you do not win
The agreement “must clearly notify the client of any expenses for which the client will be liable whether or not the client is the prevailing party.”
A written closing statement at the end
When the matter concludes, the lawyer must give you a written statement of the outcome and, if there is a recovery, show the remittance to you and how it was calculated. You are entitled to see the math.
Separately, Rule 1.5(a) requires every fee to be reasonable, and one of the eight listed factors is “the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services.” That is why what is typical is a fair question to ask — the rules themselves treat it as relevant.
Ask any lawyer you interview for these five answers, including us. A lawyer who will not walk you through the fee agreement before you sign it has told you something.
The percentage reflects what a firm costs to run, not how hard anyone works your file.
Large offices, large support staff, heavy television and outdoor advertising budgets, and paper-driven processes all get paid for out of the same contingency fee. A third is what that cost structure requires.
Records retrieval, intake, document assembly, and case organization run on software with attorney supervision rather than on headcount. That is a genuine difference in overhead, and it is where the fee difference comes from. See our Technology & AI disclosure for how that work is supervised.
At any price, ask who will actually handle your case day to day, how much litigation experience that person has, and whether the firm is prepared to file suit and try it rather than settle it cheap. Matthew Kavanagh has practiced since 2017, taken more than 250 depositions, and tried jury cases to verdict. Ask the same questions everywhere you go.
One number, and it does not move.
Flat 20% — every stage
Our contingency fee is 20% whether your case settles pre-suit, goes through trial, or reaches appeal. It never escalates to 33% or 40%.
Nothing upfront
No retainer and no hourly bill. We advance the case expenses — filing fees, records, deposition transcripts, experts — so nothing comes out of your pocket while the case is pending.
If we lose, your cost is $0
Not a reduced fee. Not costs billed back to you. If there is no recovery you owe us nothing at all, and the expenses we advanced stay with us. Ask any other firm you interview this exact question — the answers vary more than people expect.
Lien reduction — 100% to you
We negotiate medical liens aggressively. Every dollar we reduce from a lien goes to you. We keep none of the savings and charge no additional fee for the lien work.
The agreement, before you decide
You get the fee agreement to read in full, on your own time, before signing anything. If a term does not make sense, ask, and we will walk you through it line by line.
We handle injury cases. We do not handle workers’ compensation, medical malpractice, or product liability claims — if you have one, we will point you toward someone who does, at no charge.
Most work on a contingency fee of roughly one third, and many agreements rise to 40% once suit is filed. Some firms charge less. Indiana sets no standard percentage for an ordinary injury case — Rule 1.5(a) requires only that the fee be reasonable. Ours is a flat 20%.
In many agreements, yes — commonly to 40% once suit is filed. Rule 1.5(c) requires the agreement to state the percentages for settlement, trial, and appeal, so you can always check. Ours is 20% at every stage.
It depends on the agreement, and the difference is real money. A fee taken on the gross recovery is larger than the same percentage taken after expenses come out. Rule 1.5(c) requires your agreement to say which it is.
No retainer and no hourly bill. The fee is a percentage of any recovery, and we advance the case expenses so nothing comes out of your pocket while the case is pending.
Nothing. Not the attorney’s fee, and not the case expenses we advanced — if there is no recovery, those stay with us. Worth asking every firm you interview, because some do bill advanced costs back to the client after a loss, and Rule 1.5(c) requires that answer to appear in the fee agreement either way.
Typically case expenses and any medical liens or subrogation claims, in addition to the attorney’s fee. That is why a percentage by itself never tells you your take-home number.
The percentage reflects a firm’s cost structure, not the work on your file. Judge any lawyer on who handles the case day to day, their litigation experience, and whether they are prepared to file suit and try it. Ask those questions everywhere, including here.
Ask and we will send it. Read it on your own time, compare it against anyone else’s, and call with questions. There is no obligation and no upfront cost.
Practice areas: auto accidents, semi-truck, slip and fall, pedestrian & bicycle, uninsured motorist, wrongful death.