Why a Trial Firm
How Much Out-of-Pocket Costs Will I Incur to Hire a Workers Compensation Lawyer?
Simple answer: none.
The Law Office of James M. Hoffmann advances all costs and expenses in our clients’ cases and does not charge a fee until there has been a monetary recovery. This arrangement is called a contingency fee agreement.
You never receive a bill, you are not asked to finance your case, and every consultation, in our office, your home, or a hospital room, is free.
100% Free Consultation
Ask us anything about fees
A few details are enough to start. Attorney James M. Hoffmann reviews every inquiry.
The Agreement
How the Contingency Fee Agreement Works
We pay the expenses along the way: medical records, expert fees, depositions, and the rest. Those costs are reimbursed only if we recover on your behalf.
Because our practice is Missouri workers’ compensation exclusively, there are no complicated billing structures and no hourly bills. Our fee is contingent on your recovery: we do not get paid unless you do, and we charge a percentage of the final recovery. You never have to worry about paying us while the case is progressing, and our interests stay aligned with yours from the first call to the final check.
Usually, our fees are:
- Missouri workers’ compensation: 25% of the recovery.
- Personal injury matters: 33 1/3% to 40%.
Bottom line: we never send you a bill, and you are not required to finance your case. To see what this arrangement has produced for injured Missouri workers, look at our settlements and verdicts and at what goes into a case’s value.
A Trial Firm
Where the advanced costs go
In 2025 alone, our firm spent over $700,000 on expert witnesses, advanced the same way: at no cost to clients unless there is a recovery. Records, depositions, independent physicians, vocational experts. The evidence that moves cases is expensive, and we front it.
Our firm handled roughly 1 in 4 of recent workers’ compensation trials at the St. Louis Division of Workers’ Compensation, out of hundreds of attorneys representing Missouri workers. Insurers know which firms will actually try a case, and it changes how they negotiate.
That is what the contingency arrangement really buys you: a trial firm with every reason to build your case like it is going to a hearing.
Common Questions
Fee questions we hear every week
Do I pay anything upfront to hire a workers’ comp lawyer?
No. No retainer, no hourly billing, no bills during the case. The fee comes out of the recovery at the end, and case expenses are reimbursed only if there is a recovery.
What percentage does a Missouri workers’ comp lawyer take?
Our fee in Missouri workers’ compensation cases is 25% of the recovery.
What happens if my case does not recover anything?
Then you owe no attorney fee. That is the point of a contingency fee agreement: the financial risk sits with us, not with you.
Is the consultation really free?
Yes. In our office, in your home, or in a hospital room. Every case is different; results depend on the facts, and the consultation is where we tell you honestly what yours may involve.
About Attorney Hoffmann
Talk directly with Attorney James M. Hoffmann
For more than 30 years, James M. Hoffmann has represented injured Missouri workers, and only injured Missouri workers.
When you call, you talk with the attorney handling your case, not a call center and not a junior associate. Questions about attorney fees are exactly the kind to ask before you settle, not after.
Talk to a lawyer without spending a dollar
If cost is the reason you have not called anyone about your work injury, that reason is gone. A conversation costs nothing. Free consultation. No fee unless we recover compensation.