Attorney Fees And Costs

Fees and Costs When We Represent You

Before hiring an attorney (or any professional) it’s important to have an understanding of how that attorney expects to be paid for his or her services. The attorney and potential client should also be clear on what kinds of out-of-pocket expenses for which the client may become responsible.

At Paul M. Erspamer Law Offices, S.C., we understand that our clients in Workers’ Compensation, and Personal Injury matters are often dealing with painful medical issues that keep them from working their normal schedule, or indeed from working at all. With no employment income, these persons are often not in a position to pay a cash retainer to a law firm. As a result, we very rarely ask for a retainer from our clients in Workers’ Compensation, and Personal Injury cases.

We have tried to look at the issue of attorneys’ fees from our clients’ point of view. Here is our policy on fees and costs in the kinds of cases we routinely handle:

Workers’ Compensation

Wisconsin law provides that attorneys who represent injured workers in disputed workers compensation claims may charge a “contingent fee” of 20% of the net disputed benefits he or she produces for the client: “An attorney is entitled to legal fees up to 20% of the amount of benefits in dispute.”

At Paul M. Erspamer Law Offices, S.C. we don’t charge for our time in Workers’ Compensation claims, unless we produce results. In other words, if we don’t accomplish anything for you, we don’t get paid for our time. That’s what we mean when we say the fee is “contingent”. We are paid a fee of 20% of the benefits that we obtain for you. No benefits means no attorneys fee.

All fees must be approved by a Wisconsin Workers’ Compensation judge, who will also usually allow us to recover our legitimate, out-of-pocket expenses (such as costs of obtaining medical or vocational records or reports) incurred in getting the claim ready for a hearing.

The bottom line is that our policy means there is no risk to you in meeting with us and having us review your situation. If we can’t help you, you don’t have to pay us any fee.

Personal Injury Cases

Personal injury cases are those (like injuries from motor vehicle accidents, premises liability claims, or wrongful death cases) where a person is injured due to the negligence or carelessness of another. In personal injury cases, we follow the same contingent fee (means “no fee unless you win”) policy. In most cases, we charge a contingent fee of 33%.

What this means is that at Paul M. Erspamer Law Offices, S.C. we don’t charge for our time in Personal Injury claims, unless we produce results. In other words, if we don’t accomplish anything for you, we don’t get paid for our time. That’s what we mean when we say the fee is “contingent”.

We are usually paid a fee of 33% of the recovery (cash benefits) that we obtain on your claim. No recovery means no attorneys fee. We also keep track of our legitimate, out-of-pocket expenses (such as costs of obtaining medical or vocational records or reports) incurred in getting the case ready for settlement. When the case is resolved, we will submit a statement of all expenses to be reimbursed from the settlement. The bottom line is that our policy means there is no risk to you in meeting with us and having us review your situation. If we can’t help you, you don’t have to pay us any fee.