Want to get this daily news briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

CONTINGENCY PLANS - Contingency fees—they’re not just for personal injury cases anymore. In the midst of the recession and pandemic, some firms are increasingly taking on contingency fee matters in business litigation and commercial cases, Dan Roe reports. Business owners who don’t have the cash on hand to front litigation costs are turning to law firms that work on contingency and are willing to absorb case costs, said firm leaders, who reported a rise in contingency fee inquiries since the beginning of the pandemic. “Trying a case can cost almost as much as everything leading up to it,” said William B. Lewis, Morgan & Morgan’s business trial group co-managing partner. “Even in a two-year litigation cycle, it could be $300,000 in attorney’s fees to try a case. There are pressure points for folks to settle even if they have a valid, strong claim. We allow clients to try cases because they don’t have to pay huge amounts to get cases in front of a jury.”