The Wisconsin Contingent Fee Practice Study
The information discussed in this article was collected by Prof.
Herbert M. Kritzer as part of the National Science Foundation-funded
Wisconsin Contingent Fee Practice Study. The data collection involved
three components.
The first component was a mail survey of Wisconsin contingency fee
practitioners; the sample for the survey was based upon the State Bar of
Wisconsin Litigation Section mailing list. The survey was executed for
Prof. Kritzer by the U.W. Survey Center to preserve respondent
confidentiality. A total of 511 usable questionnaires were returned,
which constituted a 48 percent response rate. Most of the information in
this article draws upon the survey data.
The second aspect of the data collection involved Prof. Kritzer's
full-time observation of lawyers at work. He spent approximately one
month in each of three different contingency fee practices. While
present in each practice, his formal status was that of a paralegal, and
in each practice he provided some assistance with research and other
activities. All of the practices were within a one-hour drive of
Madison. The practices were chosen to reflect different settings. Two
practices specialized in contingency fee cases, one relatively high
volume and one low volume; the third was a mixed trial or court practice
in which contingent fee work constituted about 20 percent of the
lawyer's work. The specific practices were chosen based upon personal
contacts and suggestions by persons knowledgeable about local
practitioners. Only one contacted practice declined to participate.
The third part of the data collection consisted of semi-structured
interviews with 50 contingency fee practitioners, insurance defense
counsel, and current or retired insurance adjusters. The plaintiffs'
lawyers interviewed were chosen by selecting from directories and yellow
page listings covering an area within about 100 miles of Madison.
Defense counsel or firms were identified by the plaintiffs' lawyers.
Insurance adjusters were identified by defense counsel.
Wisconsin Lawyer
