Saturday, May 23, 2015

Popular Client Issues Related To Contingent Fee Patent Litigation

By Winifred Christensen


Hiring a lawyer can be real challenging for any client. Unless you have a family attorney, you will have to spend time looking for a professional who is capable on handling the specific case that you have. Plus, not all attorneys take on all types of work. Some of them have specialization. So if the one that you have is not open to the possibility of serving the needs that you have, then you will have to look somewhere else.

If you are living within the city, it should not be so difficult to find a firm that house competent lawyers. Before agreeing on any deal, you just have to verify if they are on to contingent fee patent litigation method. Patent issues can be real complicated depending on the entity whom you are going against with as well. Make sure to verify this information first.

Other clients find this advantageous. And then there are those that think its not cost efficient. If you want to settle a patent issue and would like to hire someone, be very mindful of how they want to be paid. Some ask for a flat hourly rate while others have this contingent fees. Here are some common issues revolving around this.

Possibility of bigger cost. By agreeing on a contingent fee method of paying the work of a lawyer, there is this tendency that you will have to pay higher out of the full money that you will get once you win the case. This is why it is important to assess how much will be expected to spend if you go for the other alternative which is per hour payment.

Selectiveness of the attorneys. As legal professionals, part of the right that they have is to accept and decline a job. Once they refuse to handle yours, you cannot force them to do so. Attorneys can refuse a case if they are not confident that they can win it. After all, they will not get paid when they lose.

More convenient way of paying. If you pay at an hourly rate, you will need to make the payment for every transaction, or at least at a more regular basis depending on your agreement. Contingent fees on the other hand does not have this problem since all of the fees, if any, can be processed once you already won the case.

Percentage of earning is negotiable. The usual rate of the division is one third of the entire earning. However, it is open to negotiation. Some attorneys may also charge higher than this considering the other expenses that they have spent while working on your issue.

There is no need to pay if you do not win. Its only natural to get disappointment especially if we lose and we end up paying much already. With this method, you will not be charged if the result of the case will not turn out to be what you expect.

Ensure the ownership of your product by not letting anyone steal it from you. Hire the best lawyer in town and agree on a good deal. Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of contingent fee method and see if you are willing to take it on.




About the Author:



No comments: