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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
5 pages in length. The American public cannot watch late-night television without being overwhelmed with a barrage of legal counsel commercials advertising their contingent-fee agreement; for a large chunk of the plaintiff's settlement - anywhere from twenty-five to fifty percent - the company will represent that individual for no upfront costs. While logic says an attorney would never take a case on contingency unless he or she knew the odds were very much in the plaintiff's favor to emerge with a victorious ruling, this is not always foolproof for the legal counsel when they realize - after investing considerable time and money out of their own pockets - that the case is far from solid. By contrast, a system whereby the loser covers all costs from both sides can either benefit or damage the defendant if the plaintiff has a better attorney and earns the decision in a case whereby the defendant was not guilty of any wrongdoing. Indeed, the prevalence of people being ruled against simply because the opposing side was more effective with identifying loopholes in the system illustrates how there are still some aspects of law that fails to serve and protect the innocent. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: LM1_TLCContingent.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
fifty percent - the company will represent that individual for no upfront costs. While logic says an attorney would never take a case on contingency unless he or she
knew the odds were very much in the plaintiffs favor to emerge with a victorious ruling, this is not always foolproof for the legal counsel when they realize - after
investing considerable time and money out of their own pockets - that the case is far from solid (Lane, 2006). By contrast, a system whereby the loser covers all
costs from both sides of the suit can either benefit or damage the defendant if the plaintiff has a better attorney and earns the decision in a case whereby the
defendant was not guilty of any wrongdoing. Indeed, the prevalence of people being ruled against simply because the opposing side was more effective with identifying loopholes in the system
illustrates how there are still some aspects of law that fails to serve and protect the innocent. Examining both approaches finds the absence of a "loser pays" structure in
Americas judicial system a gross injustice for innocent defendants (Wolters Kluwer, 2008). The combination of contingent fees for plaintiffs, hourly fees for defendants, and the lack of a loser
pays system works to allow a type of legal extortion. Plaintiffs with frivolous claims can threaten to sue, unless they are given financial compensation. Faced with this type
of threat, defendants have a strong financial incentive to meet the plaintiffs demands. Of course, this combination also means that plaintiffs can sue (or threaten to sue) without risking
anything whatsoever. If the suit is not successful, the loss will have cost the plaintiff nothing. This fact makes the use of such threats even more pervasive (Wolters
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