Prospective Clients

Fee Structure

The firm works virtually exclusively on a CONTINGENCY FEE basis. That means we only get paid if we get a recovery for our clients. Also, we advance all COSTS unless special circumstances exist. This is of great advantage to our clients, because costs can range from a few thousand dollars to well over a hundred thousand dollars, depending on the case.

Our fees are based on a percentage of what we obtain for you. This is standard in the fields of personal injury, wrongful death, and insurance bad faith litigation, and most defendants account for plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees in attempting to settle cases.

The vast majority of our cases are contracted on a basis of a 33% fee to us if the case is settled at or before the first court ordered settlement conference or mediation; and 40% thereafter. Medical malpractice cases have special fees set by statute. If a case does not result in a recovery, we take no fee and do not seek reimbursement of the costs we have advanced (except in special and extremely unusual circumstances).

$152,000 Early Settlement for broken collarbone
Clarissa Kearns has had good success at negotiating settlements with public entities before filing suit. In this instance, she secured a $152,000 recovery for a bicyclist who hit an unmarked speed bump while descending a steep hill.

$5,858,000 Verdict for Elderly Pedestrian in San Mateo
Skip Walker tried the case of Yao v. Thrasher to a multi-million dollar verdict on October 27. The offer when Skip was first brought into the case was $0. Thereafter, it was raised to $250,000 then $500,000, and then $1,000,000 while the jury was out. Liability was found to rest half with defendant driver, and half with the pedestrian, who was a recent arrival from China. The magazine VERDICT SERVICES made this case “Verdict of the Week.”