Legal Fee Comparison Calculator

When liability is clear and damages are large enough that a 33-40% contingency would dwarf reasonable hourly fees. Sophisticated clients with strong cases (e.g., well-documented commercial claims) often save substantially by paying hourly, sometimes 50-70% less than a contingency would cost.

When you cannot afford hourly fees, when liability is contested, when damages are uncertain, or when the case may take years. Contingency shifts the risk of losing entirely to the attorney. For most personal injury, employment, and consumer cases, contingency remains the practical default.

Flat fees work well for predictable matters: simple wills ($300-$1,500), uncontested divorces ($500-$2,500), basic incorporations ($500-$2,000), and many criminal misdemeanors. Hybrid arrangements (reduced hourly + success bonus, or capped fees) can balance cost certainty with attorney incentive on complex matters.

Estimate likely hours × hourly rate, then add costs and a contingency on the upside if applicable. Compare to a contingency calculation using realistic recovery scenarios (low, mid, high). Ask attorneys for their last 5-10 similar cases' billed totals to ground the estimates in reality.