I would like to know what to watch out for in a Attorney Contingency Retainer Agreement?

If you have a good case, shop around and see what other lawyers offer you. If he is the only one who is willing to take it, you are stuck. Either accept his terms or don't hire him.

Yes, most lawyers do a sliding fee adjustment...1/3 if it settles early, 40% if it goes to trial. That is a percentage of the total award, you do NOT subtract out the costs first. Do you have any control over costs? Decision-making? Costs can get expensive.

Lien: I had my attorney change the wording here....because if you totally drop the case, and do not hire other counsel, you will then owe him an awful lot of money. Let's say something totally tragic happens in your life, and you no longer have the time/desire to continue with the case, for example. Also, because of that lien, if you have a falling out with your lawyer, other lawyers will not want your case, because he will have first dibs to the money. As he should, as he put a lot of time into the case.

Are you paying him anything up front? You want to play with the numbers, to get an idea of different scenarios. I am in Texas, had a discrimination/retaliation case settle out of court. It settled for $32,500....he got his 1/3 ($10,833) plus $6100 for costs. And I got out of the costs for less than some others....some attorneys charge for every envelope, every stamp, every paperclip. Mine did not charge except for outside copying services that we used, depositions, experts reports,etc.

Performance: what do you know about this guy? If he is taking the case strictly on contingency....how many other cases does he have, what is his track record, how hard will he work for you? How much staff support does he have? Has he ever taken a case all the way to trial, or will he try to settle it out for too low? Who decides whether or not you will accept a settlement offer, you or him?

Other things you might want in the contract: communication! Some attorneys do not keep clients informed. You can request quarterly updates, etc. as well as regular billing statements.

Is he easy to talk to, or are you intimidated by him? If you do not feel comfortable, you might want to keep looking around.

Good luck to you!

Retainer agreements are extraordinarily generally occurring so getting one off the internet isn't that unusual. remember to fulfill with an lawyer from the employer head to head until now you sign something however.