Blended Contingency Fee Agreement

A direct fee agreement is not appropriate for commercial disputes, since a commercial client may not understand a case until its conclusion, opt for a transaction that does not involve cash or can change lawyers if the case seems more valid. A reasonable alternative is to insist on a ”hybrid” fee agreement, in which the lawyer receives a reduced hourly rate, but accepts a ”benefit” for any eventuality. In addition to the potential benefits to the end result of the client and lawyer, the process of forming creative fee agreements often leads to increased client satisfaction with the process. (a) the agreement on fees may provide that the percentage of any tax shall be reduced by the amount of a fee granted by the courts. (See Denton v.