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New York Caps What an Injury Lawyer Can Charge, by Rule and Statute
In most New York personal injury cases, a court rule caps the contingency fee at one-third of the recovery or at a sliding schedule the client chooses.
Medical malpractice fees follow a sliding scale in Judiciary Law § 474-a, which starts at 30 percent and falls to 10 percent on amounts above $1,250,000.
In a child's case, the judge sets the fee.
Whether case expenses come out before or after the percentage is a choice the written retainer has to explain.
We work on contingency, so no fee is owed unless the case recovers.
Call (888) 713-6653 with questions about a fee agreement. The review is free.
- Most New York injury cases: up to one-third of the recovery, or a sliding Schedule A, under the Appellate Division rules
- Medical malpractice: 30, 25, 20, 15, and 10 percent tiers under Judiciary Law § 474-a, always computed after expenses
- A child's case: the court fixes the fee, capped at one-third of the net unless the court allows more
- Hospital and insurance liens are never deducted before the fee is calculated
- In New York City and the Second Department, lawyers file retainer and closing statements with the court system
The One-Third Fee and the Sliding Schedule in New York Injury Cases
Each of New York's four Appellate Division departments has a court rule capping contingency fees in personal injury and wrongful death cases, and the four rules are nearly identical. The Second Department's rule, which applies to lawyers with offices in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, and the counties north of the city, gives the client and lawyer two schedules to choose from.[1]
- Schedule B, the one most people know. A fee of up to one-third of the sum recovered.
- Schedule A, a sliding scale. 50 percent of the first $1,000, 40 percent of the next $2,000, 35 percent of the next $22,000, and 25 percent of everything above $25,000.
A fee at or below the chosen schedule is treated as fair and reasonable. A fee above it is treated as unreasonable unless a court authorizes it in writing, and only a Schedule A agreement allows a lawyer to ask for more in extraordinary circumstances. The First Department, which covers Manhattan and the Bronx, applies the same schedules under its own rule number.
The retainer names the schedule, so the choice is made the day the agreement is signed, along with the choice about expenses covered below.
How the Judiciary Law § 474-a Scale Works on a Malpractice Recovery
"On a $1,250,000 malpractice recovery, the most a New York lawyer can take is $275,000."
Malpractice fees are set by statute rather than court rule, and the percentage falls as the recovery grows.[2]
| Part of the Net Recovery | Maximum Rate | Maximum Fee on That Part | Running Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| First $250,000 | 30% | $75,000 | $75,000 |
| Next $250,000 | 25% | $62,500 | $137,500 |
| Next $500,000 | 20% | $100,000 | $237,500 |
| Next $250,000 | 15% | $37,500 | $275,000 |
| Above $1,250,000 | 10% | 10% of the excess | $275,000 plus 10% of the excess |
The percentages apply to the net recovery after case expenses are repaid, and liens are not deducted first. A lawyer can apply to the court for more in extraordinary circumstances, never more than the signed agreement allows, and the court has to state its reasons. When part of a birth injury recovery is routed to the Medical Indemnity Fund, the fee is still figured on the full award.
For a family, the scale means a large malpractice recovery leaves a larger share with the client than the one-third rule would.
Case Expenses Before or After the Percentage, and Who Chooses
Expert witnesses, medical records, depositions, and filing fees can run into the tens of thousands in a serious case. New York's court rules let the client choose how those expenses interact with the fee, and the retainer has to describe both methods, explain the financial effect of each, and show which one the client picked.
- The net method. Expenses are repaid from the recovery first, and the percentage is applied to what is left.
- The gross method. Available only when the lawyer agrees to pay the costs of the case under Judiciary Law § 488(2)(d); the percentage is then applied to the whole recovery before expenses.[3]
- Malpractice cases. Always the net method, by statute.
- Liens, either way. Hospital, doctor, and insurance liens are paid from the client's share and are never deducted before the fee is calculated.
The Rules of Professional Conduct require every contingency fee agreement to be in writing and to say whether expenses come out before or after the fee is calculated.[4] If an agreement in front of you does not say, that is the first question to ask.
Three Sample Recoveries and the Fee Each One Allows
These are illustrations of the arithmetic, not predictions for any case.
A $300,000 Car Crash Settlement
Case expenses of $12,000 are repaid first under the net method, leaving $288,000. One-third of that is a $96,000 fee, which leaves $192,000. A $20,000 hospital lien is then paid from the client's share, so the client receives $172,000.
A $1,000,000 Malpractice Recovery
After $60,000 in expert and other case expenses, the net is $940,000. The § 474-a scale allows $75,000 on the first $250,000, $62,500 on the next $250,000, and 20 percent of the remaining $440,000, or $88,000, for a maximum fee of $225,500. The client's share before any liens is $714,500.
A $90,000 Settlement for a Child
With $3,000 in approved disbursements, the court rule caps the fee at one-third of the remaining $87,000, or $29,000, unless the judge specifically allows more. The child's share is held as the court directs until age 18.
The Retainer and Closing Statements Filed With the New York Courts
In the First and Second Departments, which include all of New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Dutchess counties, a lawyer who takes a personal injury case on contingency files a retainer statement with the court system within 30 days. When money comes in, the lawyer files a closing statement within 15 days and serves a copy on the client, personally or by registered or certified mail, together with the client's share.[5]
Both statements are filed electronically and kept confidential. The closing statement shows the recovery, the expenses, the fee, and the amount paid to you, and the client keeps the right to ask the court to review the fee. A signed retainer agreement also satisfies the court system's separate requirement of a written letter of engagement.[6]
The closing statement is the document to keep, because it is the court's record of how your recovery was divided.
Fees on a Child's Settlement Are Fixed by the Judge
An agreement signed by a parent or guardian is enforceable only subject to the court's power to fix the fee.[7] The court rule caps it at one-third of what remains after listed disbursements, such as police reports, depositions, and expert fees, unless the court specifically authorizes more.[8]
A 2025 amendment added two protections: a lawyer may not charge interest on disbursements without the court's express approval, and any litigation funding or loan against the settlement has to be disclosed to the judge. Our page on the court approval of a child's settlement covers the rest of that hearing.
Questioning a Contingency Fee Through the Court That Oversees It
The court system's fee arbitration program does not handle personal injury contingency fees, because those fees are already set by rule.[9] The route for a client who believes a fee was wrong is a petition to the court, which the closing-statement rules expressly preserve.
Workers' compensation is different again. A comp lawyer's fee has to be approved by the Workers' Compensation Board and comes out of an award, as our page on comp claims before the Board explains.
How Our Contingency Fee Works From Retainer to Closing Statement
We take injury and malpractice cases on contingency, within the limits above. You Win or It's Free.
You should know exactly what your case will cost before you sign. We explain our fee, case expenses, and final distribution in plain language, so there are no surprises when your case ends. We advance all the case costs and collect our fee only if we recover compensation for you. Every client sees the percentage, the expense method, and an example with real numbers before any settlement is signed.
Consultations are free, with Spanish-speaking intake, and the first conversation is the right time to ask how the fee would work on your case.