Wright Commercial Litigation seeks to provide value. That includes offering to work on a contingency basis—full, part, or hybrid—for certain types of insurance, breach of contract, DTPA cases, and a variety of others depending on the circumstances. A contingency fee is the norm for personal injury cases but less commonly used in commercial disputes. The firm seeks to stand out in that regard, offering to back up its assessment of the merits of a case with a full or partial contingency that results in the firm not being paid unless and until there is a successful recovery that benefits both firm and client. That provides a significant advantage to small or midsize businesses as well as individual owners, partners, investors, shareholders, and others who cannot afford the hourly rates charged by most firms.
The contingency fees offered by Wright Commercial Litigation are typically set as a fixed percentage of any monetary recovery obtained after the firm becomes involved, which may be phased to start lower and increase depending on whether a resolution is achieved by settlement before suit or additional work becomes necessary through filing, prosecution, and ultimately trial of a claim. The contingency percentages are set for each unique case based on a proprietary approach factoring in the key facts, the adversary, amounts at issue, time anticipated and difficulty, along with the firm’s independent evaluation of the merits and likelihood of recovery.
The primary risk for a law firm in any contingency case is not being paid in full (or at all) for a substantial investment of time and/or money. That requires due diligence on the front end to make sure a claim not only has validity but some reasonable assurances of collecting payment if successful. Wright Commercial Litigation is experienced with a wide variety of commercial disputes in McKinney and throughout Collin County, Dallas County, Denton County, and the greater Texas area, and is willing to back up its assessment of a case by offering a contingency fee when appropriate and feasible.
Contact the firm to request an evaluation of your case to see if it is one that can be handled on a contingency or at least a hybrid or reduced fee basis.
1 Please note that the firm’s contingency arrangements typically require a client to still pay court costs, expert charges, and other litigation expenses as incurred and regardless of outcome. In some circumstances, the firm may offer to cover all costs of litigation in return for a higher contingency percentage. The detailed terms of contingency—full, part, hybrid, and responsibility for costs—will be agreed upon between you and the firm before any engagement, as well as documented in a detailed written agreement executed by both sides before any work begins.
Reasonable Hourly Rates with a Value-Based Billing Commitment
Sometimes a contingency fee or other alternative arrangement is not feasible (for a variety of reasons). In that instance, the firm can usually still offer to work on a traditional hourly basis at a rate that is very reasonable in comparison to others, which is made possible by intelligently leveraging modern technology and support solutions to minimize the overhead other firms still treat as essential.
In addition, however, Wright Commercial Litigation subscribes to a philosophy that no client should be charged by the hour for anything that does not add true value to their matter. That means, first and foremost, billing by the hour only for work legitimately required to apply some legal skill, knowledge, or experience that advances the ball on a client’s case or project. Certainly there will be tasks from time to time requiring a significant investment of hours to make sure they are done correctly and to fully protect a client’s rights and options, but you will never be expected by Wright Commercial Litigation to pay for anything the firm itself cannot translate into measurable progress on your matter.
Yet, value is subjective. Like “beauty” it may exist only in the eye of a beholder.
As a result, Wright Commercial Litigation’s dedication to value means that, if you get charged on an hourly basis for something you do not agree was worth the effort, then there’s no obligation to pay for that task. No questions asked. That is the firm’s “value-based” commitment for matters billed by the hour.
Hybrid Fees and Other Alternative Arrangements for Commercial Contingency
A hybrid fee is any combination of the standard forms of legal billing—fixed fee, hourly fee, and/or contingency—but can also include arrangements such as placing a “cap” on a normal hourly rate (which gives a client the benefit of paying only for time incurred if under the cap with a guaranteed ceiling not to be exceeded even if necessary to properly complete a project).
Less common types of hybrid fees may include a “holdback” whereby the client releases a portion of fees as earned only upon certain measures of “success” being attained, or even a true retainer where a client pays a larger one-time, monthly, or annual fee to secure the services of an attorney whenever needed.
Whatever form it takes, a hybrid fee can make skilled legal services available to a wider variety of clients and cases. Wright Commercial Litigation will consider any type of creative arrangement you would like to propose or try out. The firm seeks to be innovative in all things. All you need to do is ask.
No Charges for General Consultation. Ever.
A law firm focused on providing true value must also listen closely to the client and not hesitate to speak up and tell them when legal services are not needed. That, in turn, requires open and honest communication at all times. Billing every six minutes in the process can be a hindrance to that goal.
That is part of the reason why general consultations with Wright Commercial Litigation (i.e., those not requiring any analysis of documents in particular) are free … before, during, or after an engagement.
Certainly no client should ever be deterred by cost from simply asking a question, providing information, or getting an update on their matter. Miscommunication is the root cause of most error and dissatisfaction. Virtually every other industry on the planet charges customers only for the core product or service a business is uniquely qualified to provide the client, not time spent answering customer questions. Why should your law firm be different? … Tradition? … So it can achieve higher profits?
Wright Commercial Litigation does not seek to be a traditional law firm. The mission is to be as efficient and targeted as possible in order to help clients solve their legal problems in a way that saves them money. Compensation for a firm should come first in the satisfaction of a job well done for an appreciative client, whether that is a large corporation, small business owner, or individual client. Profit then will naturally follow the path carved out by superior customer service.
Contact the firm today to schedule an appointment to discuss your matter.