PrepTest 139, Section 2, Question 22
In October 1999, the Law Reform Commission of(451 more words not shown)
The passage states which one(3 more words not shown)
- AContingency-fee agreements serve(17 more words not shown)
- BContingency-fee agreements of(19 more words not shown)
- CAt least some(22 more words not shown)
- DAllowing contingency-fee agreements(18 more words not shown)
- EUsually contingency-fee agreements(18 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
One stated benefit of contingency fees is that the lawyer takes on the financial risk of an unsuccessful case. The client is not simply buying a cheaper service: the parties are changing who bears the risk that the case will not produce enough money to pay the legal costs. We need a claim the author actually makes, rather than a prediction about whether the proposal will pass or a familiar assumption about how lawyers usually charge.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The final paragraph expressly says these arrangements shift the risk of not recovering costs and obtaining enough damages to cover fees onto lawyers instead of clients (paragraph 4). This directly matches the stated purpose.
- B
Protecting clients from disproportionate fees is the commission's aim. That intention does not establish that its preferred arrangements would normally prevent lawyers from being paid more than they deserve.
- C
The author evaluates the recommendations, but does not forecast which ones will be adopted. A proposal's existence is not evidence of its likely enactment.
- D
This goes against the final sentence, which says contingency fees can increase lawyers' diligence and commitment by bringing their financial interests into line with their clients'.
- E
The definition of contingency fees requires success-dependent payment, not a particular percentage of damages. The specific uplift arrangement described uses a percentage of the lawyer's normal fee. Nothing tells us what contingency agreements usually use.
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