With the recent economic downturn forcing businesses to conserve capital, funding a six- or even seven-figure litigation budget can be daunting, if not impossible. Without the capital to fight, a business can be forced to resolve a dispute on unfair terms or even forgo the pursuit of meritorious claims.

For businesses faced with this economic reality, one option is to engage a law firm on a contingency-fee arrangement. Many business people, however, still have the misconception that commercial litigators only charge by the hour, even though contingency-fee representation for businesses is more common than ever before.