Do I Have to Pay Case-Related Expenses if I Refer a Case to the Law Offices of John Day?

No. We advance all case-related expenses in personal injury and wrongful death cases and we do not ask our referring attorneys to contribute to those expenses. In certain types of cases, these expenses can easily exceed $100,000, and we advance and bear the risk of loss on the entire amount.

It is important to note that The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. does not (a) require clients to pay expenses incurred in preparing their cases for trial; (b) steer clients to high-priced lenders so that the client can borrow money to pay case expenses; or (c) charge interest or other fees on the monies it advances for case expenses. Many other tort lawyers do so, thus increasing the cost of litigation to the client and decreasing the client’s net recovery. Our decision to advance all case expenses and our refusal to charge interest or other fees on those case expenses increases the net recovery for the client.

In addition to advancing case expenses ourselves, we protect our clients’ interests in one other way. Unlike some plaintiffs’ firms, our fee agreement does not require the plaintiff to pay our firm’s litigation-related expenses if the case is unsuccessful. In other words, we bear 100% of the risk of litigation-related expenses.

This is a concrete benefit to the plaintiff for three reasons. First, while the case is pending, he or she does not have to worry about the risk of paying case expenses. After an accident, money can be short as families are forced to incur co-pays and meet deductibles. The financial problem is quickly compounded if the injury victim is out of work due to their injuries.  At The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. we want to take the financial pressure off our clients by advancing case expenses.  This frees them to think about their recovery instead of how they are going to juggle all of the financial issues associated with litigation.

Second, the risk of paying case expenses does not impact the client’s decision-making process during settlement negotiations. Third, in the event the case is unsuccessful, the case expenses are absorbed by our firm and the client does not face financial hardship or ruin.

If the case does result in a monetary recovery, case-related expenses are deducted from the recovery and thus paid by the client. All of this is explained to the client before the representation begins, both orally and in writing, and is part of the fee agreement in the case. If you would like to see a copy of our standard fee agreement, email me the request at referral@johndaylegal.com and we will send one to you.

Please call John Day at 615-742-4880 or toll-free at 866.812.8787 to discuss your case referral. You can also email him at referral@johndaylegal.com.  If John is depositions, trial or otherwise unavailable, our Referral Specialist will, depending upon your preference, schedule a time for you to talk to John or will immediately put you in touch with one of our other lawyers. We endeavor to respond to all referral inquiries within six hours of being contacted.