Q: What is a reasonable percentage to give the lawyer?
We have a lawyer that will take on our lemon law case for our car. The contract states a percentage they will take in the event of a civil case and civil penalties, and states this percentage is negotiable. What is a reasonable percentage to give the lawyer?
A: 1/3 to 2/5 is normal, although that can change depending on the case and whether attorney fees are recoverable. If you interview other lemon law attorneys, you will find out what is common for that area of law.
A: Lemon Law is warrranty law and it's grown out of the consumer protection movement from the late 1960s to early 1970s. This area of law is different in that the Government in most states, like here in CA, hope that the law will make the consumer "whole." To accomplish this aim, most states' lemon laws require that the manufacturer/warrantor pay your attorney, so that, if it is a CA case, for example, and this firm is actually trying to take a percentage of the car, I'd run away quickly from that firm. That said, most CA lemon lawyers will in fact take a percentage (typically 40%) of the amounts over and above the amount for the car, called Civil Penalties, IF they are successful in doing such a great job to get those and of course, once you are made whole. I hope this is somewhat helpful...
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