A contingent fee is any fee for services provided where the fee is only payable if there is a favourable result. In law, it is generally used to describe an agreement that a lawyer will only recover a fee from his or her client for representing them in a lawsuit if the client recovers money from a third party. In most cases, the lawyer will collect a percentage of the client's recovery. Law (a loanword from Old Norse lag), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy. ...

Contingent fee agreements are legal in all common law jurisdictions in North America, except for the Province of Ontario. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal it began, loyal it remains) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Area 1,076,395 km² (4th)  - Land 917,741 km²  - Water 158,654 km² (14. ...

Proponents of contingent fees point to the fact that they allow persons seeking civil remedies to obtain legal assistance without having the money to pay a lawyer up front, thereby increasing access to the courts. Look up Civil in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The word Civil is derived from the Latin word civilis, from civis (citizen). Used as an adjective, it may describe several fields, concepts, and people: Civil death Civil defense Civil disobedience Civil engineering Civil law Civil liberties Civil libertarianism Civil marriage Civil...

However, critics of contingent fees point out that many lawsuits seem to be brought only to generate fees for lawyers without giving any benefit to the vast majority of clients. For example, recent class action suits were settled for no monetary benefit for the members of the public, but generated large cash fees for the lawyers. In addition, many critics point out that some lawyers will settle a case quickly to generate a larger profit, even when going to trial would most likely be in the best interests of the client.