Our National Subrogation Recovery Program allows us to keep costs down for the client. We evaluate each file for recovery potential and then recommend to the client which method of compensation would be most cost-effective to maximize recovery for the client. The recommended fee arrangement is discussed with and approved prior to our handling the file. The most commonly used fee arrangements are contingency and hourly, but there are times, although rare, we may suggest a blended fee, if appropriate. These fees are defined below:
- Contingency Fee – Typically, this is 25% of the recovery if no suit has been filed or 33 1/3% of the recovery if suit has already been filed. Many of our files are handled on a contingency fee basis.
- Hourly Fee – An hourly fee arrangement may be recommended if we know that it will take little effort on MWL’s part to bring a reasonable settlement. For example, it wouldn’t be in your best interest to have a $100,000 file handled on a contingency fee when a few phone calls or letters by an MWL attorney will bring about a settlement. Uninsured losses are normally handled hourly. For these types of files, MWL will most often offer to obtain a judgment against the adverse party on your behalf on a time and expense basis, which usually results in fees around $1,750 to $2,500, depending on the venue and cost to obtain, abstract, record, and file a judgment against the adverse party.
- Blended Fee – This fee is at times suggested if significant investigation needs to be conducted to determine if there is third-party liability or if there are potential problems identified in the file’s initial evaluation, such as spoliation, etc. In these instances, MWL may suggest that the file be handled on a hourly fee to begin with, and, once MWL has the file in order and determines that the file has subrogation potential and should be pursued, the fee arrangement can be switched to a contingency fee, at the above contingency fee rates, with a credit for all hourly fees paid up to the date the fee arrangement is switched to a contingency fee arrangement.
It is MWL’s goal to match the right fee arrangement to each file in order to bring about the best recovery possible for our client. We do this because an insurance company cannot spend itself into a successful subrogation recovery program. Each result must be cost-effective to be successful.
When the client prefers handling of subrogation matters on a contingency fee basis, you receive the same aggressive and quality representation as you would if we were on a time and expense basis, but our fees are calculated on a percentage of the subrogation recovery you receive, plus reasonable expenses.
MWL does enter into exclusive subrogation arrangements with certain clients that allow us to offer lower contingency rates and/or sliding scales. These lower rates are offset by referral of a higher number of cases from a particular client.
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