No Fees Unless We Win: How Contingency Fees Work in New Mexico
Every personal injury case El Gringo Law takes is on a contingency-fee basis. That means we advance the costs of investigating and litigating your case, and we only get paid if we recover money for you. If we lose, you owe us nothing for attorney’s fees.
What a Contingency Fee Means
A contingency fee is a percentage of your recovery, taken only if we win. Under the New Mexico Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 16-105, every contingency agreement must be in writing, must state the percentage, and must explain how expenses are handled. You always get a signed copy before we begin work.
Our Standard Contingency Percentages
Our fees follow the market standard for New Mexico personal injury:
- 33⅓% (one-third) if your case settles before a lawsuit is filed
- 40% if a lawsuit is filed and the case settles before trial
- 40% if the case goes to trial or appeal
These percentages are calculated on the gross recovery before case costs are deducted.
Who Pays the Case Costs
Case costs — things like court filing fees, deposition transcripts, expert witness fees, and medical-records retrieval — are advanced by El Gringo Law. At the end of the case, costs are deducted from the recovery. If we lose, you owe no costs.
What a Settlement Breakdown Looks Like
Say we settle your car-accident case for $90,000 pre-lawsuit. Attorney’s fee at 33⅓% is $30,000. Case costs might be $2,000. Medical liens and health-insurance subrogation claims are negotiated down and paid out of the settlement. Whatever remains goes to you. We walk you through the full disbursement sheet before you sign.
Why This Model Aligns Our Interests with Yours
Because we get paid only if you do, we have a direct financial incentive to maximize your recovery, not to rack up billable hours. And because we advance the costs, we carry the financial risk — which means we only take cases we believe in. That discipline protects you from being pressured into a bad settlement just to make the case go away.
