So, Your Lawyer Wants to Take Your Case on a Contingency Fee? It’s Actually a Sweet Deal.

What if your life was sailing along and out of nowhere, tragedy hits—an injury or illness that feels like someone just knocked the cherry off your sundae. You feel your disaster warrants a piece of justice, a tit-for-tat to help right the wrong, at least financially, to balance the scales. But attorneys’ fees to pursue a lawsuit can be costly – everybody knows that, right? – we’re talking about the price of a Birkin – hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars per hour.

Are you SOL (and we don’t mean statute of limitations). NO! We hear you. We’ve got you.

“Contingency fee litigation is your golden ticket to the sweet world of legal representation. It’s not just an escape hatch; it’s a lifeline for those needing skilled lawyers to win justice.”

What Is a Contingency Fee?

Think of it as a slice of cake. A contingency fee is one slice that only gets served when the cake is baked and ready to eat – meaning the lawyer only gets paid if you win your case.

So, instead of paying upfront for the entire cake, you agree to give the lawyer a portion of that slice if you get a favorable outcome. If the cake doesn’t get made—if you lose the case—then you don’t owe anything for that slice.

It’s a sweet deal for clients who might not have the funds to pay upfront, but it also means the lawyer has a vested interest in making that cake as big and delicious as possible.

A Case for Women only partners with contingency fee lawyers, sometimes also referred to as plaintiff attorneys. The law firms we work with represent survivors — people (like you) when you have been hurt, usually by a harmful medical drug or device, or assaulted by someone associated with a larger entity (think assault by Uber drivers, assault by a doctor, or assault at work by a superior). These professionals spend an enormous amount of time and resources on the belief they can be successful in your case. They do this without a guarantee of compensation.

What does this mean for you?

Contingency fee legal services remove the financial obstacle to accessing the civil court system. Think what it takes for a national attorney of repute to tackle such a challenge with no guarantee of recouping the expenses and/or investment of time incurred to handle your case. They wouldn’t invest countless hours and resources – like intricate piped buttercream flowers on a cake – if they didn’t think they could be successful on your behalf. Why else would they take on your case with such fervor?

Contingency fees help keep the courtroom doors open for women who don’t otherwise have available resources to take on large corporations or institutions – we call them the Big Bads – when they’ve been hurt. The contingency agreement helps level the playing field and prevents monopolizing entities from dominating our justice system simply by having deep pockets.

Plus, there is a larger calling. Whether it’s a defective product (typically in the medical space, like Essure, Paragard, or Depo-Provera) that’s the culprit or shoddy hiring protocols that put you at risk in certain service industries (think rideshare, hotels, massage salons), the visibility and verdict of a national court case force companies to play fair and tighten controls in both manufacturing and hiring protocols. We just want to make the world a fair place, safer for all women, even if we have to make noise to do it. We need your voice, by the way.

What Do Most Lawyers Charge for A Contingency Fee?

If and when the settlement/verdict comes down in your favor, you will typically pay a percentage of the money awarded to you to the law firm as their payment. State usually decides percentage caps, but they typically are 33.3 – 40%. Additionally, the firm will also collect reimbursement for expenses incurred while handling your cases, such as filing fees.

“A Case for Women charges you nothing for its services, though we remain available to you 24/7/365 throughout the course of your case.”

Does A Case for Women Work with Contingency Fee Lawyers?

Yes! We are not a law firm, but we exclusively work with contingency fee law firms because we are passionate about helping women access affordable legal services.

Some legal action we’ve supported thus far:

Doctor Sexual Assault – It happens way more often than most women know: If it felt creepy, it probably was. Think former doctors Larry Nassar (Michigan State University), Robert Anderson (University of Michigan) David Broadbent (Provo Area, Utah), Fabio Ortega (Northshore & Swedish Covenant Hospitals/Chicago), and Richard Strauss (Ohio State University).
Depo-Provera Brain Tumors – The Depo shot seemed like such an easy choice for birth control – you didn’t expect to get a brain tumor (meningioma).
Uber and Lyft Assault – It happens way more often than most women know: we have helped over 2000 women take legal action already.
Marijuana/THC vaping – The marijuana of the 60s and 70s is no match for today’s dab pens and edibles, which can be far more potent in their candy wrappers but potentially as addictive as they alter the development of young brains.
Talcum Powder – J&J’s household staple for generations was mixed with asbestos, leading to untold diagnoses of ovarian cancer.
Toxic Metals in Baby Food – Mercury and lead content, among other heavy metals, is so off-the-charts it’s no wonder researchers have linked infant consumption to the early development of ASD (autism spectrum disorder).
Ozempic – It’s been heralded as a wonder drug for dramatic weight loss, but the gruesome side effects can be life-threatening for some.
Mesothelioma – Reports of younger women being diagnosed are up 8%, along with promising new treatment methods, but mesothelioma still takes more than 3,000 US lives a year.
Paragard copper IUD – Who knew these plastic & wire IUDs could break inside you and penetrate nearby organs with sharp edges?
Troubled teen industry – Paris Hilton’s memoir (Paris: The Memoir), released in March 2023, peeled the lid off this monopoly industry that’s supposed to help children in trouble, not further traumatize them.
PFAS – “Forever chemicals,” microscopic molecules derived from man-made plastics are everywhere, including 50% of American tap water: They seep into air, soil, food crops, and groundwater, significantly raising human cancer risk.
Sex trafficking – It can happen to anyone, and we’re out to do something about it. By holding hotels accountable for turning a blind eye to trafficking, we can help end trafficking.

Why Choose Us and Not the Next Guy?

We’re not your average company, in any sense, simply because we’re so hands on. ACFW was founded by and for women in 2016 and we haven’t looked back since. We never dreamed how much need there was for what we do. We never dreamed we would create our very own 70-person team because nobody else listened hard enough or understood well enough. We mean it when we say we hear you.

In a sense, we are you – drawing from many of our own personal tragedies to make sense of yours. We’re here for you, always, 24/7/375, and we never charge you. Period. Our mission is to help you, and other women live in a safer world. That takes some doing, but we can continue making baby steps and sometimes leaps if we stick together.