“No fee unless we win” is one of the most repeated phrases in personal injury advertising, and it’s genuinely true — but it leaves most people fuzzy on how the money actually works. How is the fee calculated? What comes out of the settlement? Do you ever owe anything if the case loses? Here’s the honest, plain-English version for New Jersey.
What a contingency fee is
In a personal injury case, you typically don’t pay the lawyer by the hour. Instead, the lawyer takes a percentage of what they recover for you. If there’s no recovery, there’s no fee. This is what makes it possible for someone who’s just been injured — and often out of work — to hire a serious lawyer without writing a check up front. The lawyer is betting on the case along with you.
New Jersey actually caps the percentage
Here’s something most people don’t know: in New Jersey, contingency fees in personal injury cases aren’t a free-for-all. Court Rule 1:21-7 sets a sliding-scale cap on what a lawyer can charge. The fee is calculated on a tiered schedule — a set percentage on the first portion of the recovery, then declining percentages on higher amounts. The rule is designed so the client keeps a fair share, especially on larger recoveries.
The fee is also generally calculated on the net recovery — after certain costs are subtracted — rather than the gross. The mechanics matter, and a good lawyer will walk you through exactly how your number is reached.
The disbursement: who gets paid, and in what order
When a case settles, the money doesn’t just split between you and the lawyer. There’s an order to it. A typical disbursement out of a settlement looks roughly like this:
- Case costs are repaid (the expenses advanced to build the case);
- The attorney’s fee is calculated under the Rule 1:21-7 schedule;
- Medical liens and bills — including any health-insurance or PIP reimbursement claims — are resolved;
- The remainder goes to you.
Those medical liens are a bigger deal than people expect, and negotiating them down is part of maximizing what you actually take home — the way your PIP and tort options were set up on your auto policy can affect this too.
What if the case doesn’t win?
In a true contingency arrangement, if there’s no recovery, you don’t owe an attorney’s fee. The treatment of costs in a losing case is something your retainer agreement should address clearly — another reason to read it and ask questions before signing.
Why this transparency matters before you hire anyone
A good personal injury lawyer should be able to explain all of this to you in plain language before you sign anything — the fee schedule, how costs work, how liens get resolved, and what your realistic net recovery looks like. If a firm can’t or won’t, that tells you something. And remember the two-year filing deadline is running the whole time, so it’s worth having this conversation early.
If you’ve been injured in New Jersey
We handle personal injury cases on contingency — no fee unless we win — and we’ll explain exactly how the numbers work for your case before you commit to anything. No pressure, no jargon. Call for a free consultation and we’ll give you a straight answer about what your case may be worth and what the process looks like.
Part of our complete guide: For every related New Jersey offense, claim, and defense in one place, see our NJ Personal Injury Guide.