Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Enabling Monetization of Non-Monetary Victories

By Russell Yankwitt and Anxhela Mile
October 01, 2021

In a typical contingency fee arrangement, the successful attorney receives a percentage of "all sums recovered" by his or her client in a dispute or litigation. Oftentimes, this calculation is straightforward — the plaintiff recovers $X via settlement or verdict and the attorney takes a percentage of that recovery. But what about case-related victories that do not result in a direct recovery for the plaintiff, such as securing the dismissal of a counterclaim or obtaining declaratory or injunctive relief?

In each instance, the attorney may have spent significant time obtaining that non-monetary victory. If the retainer agreement limits the contingency fee to a percentage of "all sums recovered," however, courts have held there is no fee recovery for non-monetary victories, leaving the attorney holding the bag for his or her hard-fought success.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs Image

A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.

Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners Image

Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.