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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Personal Injury and Med Mal

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, December 31, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will review best practices for drafting plaintiff's contingency fee agreements. The panel will examine the principal sections of a contingency fee agreement that should be included and what provisions should not be included without rendering the agreement unenforceable. The program will also discuss the division of fees between discharged and successor counsel.

Faculty

Randy Johnston
Shareholder
Johnston Tobey Baruch

Mr Johnston handles cases involving professional malpractice and breaches of fiduciary duty as well as other business disputes. He is regularly featured as one of the city’s best litigators by D Magazine and is a fixture on the list of the Texas Super Lawyers from 2003-2022 by Thomson Reuters. He was chosen by his peers and independent researchers as one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Texas (by Thomson Reuters 2010-2011, 2013). Texas Lawyer named him the premier plaintiff’s legal malpractice lawyer in the State in its Go-To-Guide.  The Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the Dallas Bar Association awarded him the 2012 Texas Trial Legends Award, and the Dallas Bar Association named him Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2016.  He also has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Professional Malpractice Law, Legal Malpractice Law, Commercial Litigation, and Mergers & Acquisitions Litigation (BL Rankings 2011-2020).  Mr Johnston has been recognized as Lawyer of the Year in Dallas/Fort Worth in 2017-2023 by Best Lawyers in America. From 2020–2022, he was named to the Lawdragon 500, which annually recognizes the 500 Leading Lawyers in America.

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Description

Contingent fees are the standard in personal injury plaintiffs' practice. As a result, plaintiffs' lawyers must ensure that they have a proper, written contingent fee agreement signed by the client(s) and that the agreement complies with the applicable rules of professional responsibility, namely Rule 1.15.

Key issues include clear identification of the client, how costs will be advanced and repaid, settlement or other resolution before trial, liens, client obligations, association of other counsel, what triggers payments, and more. Disputes can arise if the representation ends before the event occurs that triggers a lawyer's right to a contingent fee (e.g., a recovery of money), whether the lawyer withdraws or employment is terminated. Disputes also arise over how to split fees between terminated and successor counsel.

Listen as our authoritative panel examines and discusses the critical sections of a contingency fee agreement and best practices for avoiding pitfalls and conflicts.

Outline

  1. Overview of history of contingency fees
  2. Requirements of Rule 1.15
  3. Key provisions that must be included in contingency fee agreements
  4. Provisions that may void contingency fee agreements
  5. Best drafting practices

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What is the effect of a damages cap on a contingency fee contract?
  • Do contingency fees incentivize lawyers to settle cases in their own financial interest?
  • What are the most important provisions?
  • Why may clients refuse to pay the contingency fee?