Advanced Case Expenses: Repayment and Written Terms
An advance answers who pays an expense now; the agreement and applicable law answer who ultimately owes it. The State Bar warns that some case expenses may remain payable even if there is no recovery. Read the provisions covering recovery, no recovery and an engagement that ends early. Identify any interest, financing or administrative charge separately, and ask which work or obligations fall outside the signed scope.
Hurt Advice editorial guide. Source review: . This guide does not state that the attorney authored, reviewed or approved it. Visit the profile for public licensing and background records.
Review the attorney’s public background, then confirm experience and availability directly.
Raffi Naljian
Founder, Civil Litigation, Personal Injury & Criminal Defense Attorney
Raffi Garabed Naljian is the founder of Naljian Law Offices and an active California attorney under State Bar #238919. A Los Angeles Times profile says he founded the firm in 2008 after beginning his legal career in 1997, and the State Bar lists personal injury, litigation, criminal law, and business law among his self-reported practice areas.
View Raffi Naljian's full verified profilePrimary identity record
Learn more about Raffi Naljian
This is a focused supporting page. Use Raffi Naljian's full sourced attorney profile as the primary identity record for biography, role, languages, office information, and public-record links. Review that profile alongside the issue-specific preparation and public sources below.
The State Bar record lists Raffi Garabed Naljian as an active California attorney, State Bar #238919. Hurt Advice is a separate referral and legal information service, not the attorney's law firm.
How to Evaluate Attorney Fit for This Issue
Ask the lawyer to point to the actual provision for each outcome, then show the calculation in writing. A contingency-fee promise does not by itself answer cost repayment. Obtain individual advice about an unclear or disputed obligation rather than treating this example as a contract ruling.
Hypothetical deduction example
Assume a fictional $10,000 recovery, $1,000 in case expenses and a fictional 30% fee. These figures are chosen only to show arithmetic; they are not a suggested fee, settlement estimate or legal entitlement.
If the fictional agreement calculates the fee on the gross recovery: $10,000 − $3,000 fee − $1,000 expenses = $6,000 before any other obligations.
If the fictional agreement calculates the fee after those expenses: $10,000 − $1,000 expenses = $9,000 fee base; 30% of $9,000 is $2,700, leaving $6,300 before any other obligations.
Neither calculation includes medical balances, liens or other deductions. Neither establishes what is owed without a recovery or after termination. Resolve those questions from the actual agreement and governing law.
Consultation worksheet
Repayment terms by outcome
Record the clause number and written answer. Hypothetical figures illustrate arithmetic only; use the actual agreement for a real decision.
There is no submit or save action. Copy your notes before leaving this page.
Which expenses are reimbursed from a recovery, and does the percentage fee apply before or after those expenses?
Which clause addresses an unsuccessful case? What, if anything, remains payable and when?
What terms address a change of counsel or early termination, and which questions need independent advice?
Does the agreement describe interest, financing or administrative charges? Identify the rate or calculation, payee and triggering event.
Can each proposed deduction be tied to an agreed term and an itemized amount, with separate liens or reimbursements clearly identified?
Sources for this guide
- California Business and Professions Code section 6147
Contingency agreement requirements, including written terms, the agreed rate, cost treatment, related work and the applicable negotiability statement.
- State Bar of California: Fees and billing
Explains fee arrangements and the separate expense questions a client should resolve before signing an agreement with a lawyer.
- California Rules of Professional Conduct: Lawyer-client relationship
Rules 1.2, 1.4 and 1.5 address client decisions, communication and fees; these are professional duties, not proof of any particular lawyer’s performance.
Check the Cost Decision
- 1Locate cost-advance, repayment, termination and deduction provisions in the proposed agreement.
- 2Ask what happens with a recovery, without a recovery and if representation ends; record separate answers.
- 3Request a written calculation using the agreement’s fee base and deduction order.
- 4Before distribution, reconcile the actual expense ledger and any separate obligations with the proposed closing statement.
Records for the Cost Review
- Signed agreement and amendments
- Expense ledger with invoices and approvals
- Any interest or financing provision
- Proposed closing statement and unresolved repayment questions
Keep your unanswered questions handy when comparing the attorney’s public profile with your needs.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Reading “no attorney fee” as “no expense repayment”
- Subtracting costs twice in a distribution example
- Treating a hypothetical fee rate as a customary or legally required rate
Use the attorney’s public background as a starting point for a direct conversation about fit.
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Important Disclosures
Attorney Advertising. Hurt Advice is a lawyer-referral and legal-information service, not a law firm. This website provides general information, not legal advice. Viewing a page or submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Independent participating attorneys decide whether to accept a matter, and representation begins only under a separate written agreement. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome; results depend on the facts and circumstances of each matter.