The attorney's fee: compensation for the work, capped at one-third
The contingency fee is the attorney's own compensation for handling the case — calculated as a percentage of the settlement or award, and capped at one-third of the recovery under MCR 8.121. It's earnings, not a reimbursement, and it's what the attorney keeps for taking on the risk and the work of the case.
Case costs: real expenses the case required
Case costs are something entirely different: actual out-of-pocket expenses the case genuinely needed. This typically includes expert witness fees, court filing fees, the cost of obtaining medical records, deposition transcripts, and similar litigation expenses. These are reimbursed, not earned — and they sit outside MCR 8.121's one-third ceiling altogether, since that rule governs the fee, not the expenses.
A related lien is treated as neither
Worth knowing as a middle case: resolving a medical lien tied to the same personal injury claim — negotiating down what's owed to Medicare, Medicaid, or a health insurer, for instance — is treated by Michigan ethics guidance as part of the work already covered by the original contingent fee. It's not billed as a separate case cost, and it's not an additional fee on top of the one-third ceiling.
Why keeping the categories straight matters
Because the one-third ceiling governs only the fee itself, a client comparing their expected net recovery should account for case costs as a genuinely separate deduction, not assume the capped fee is the only thing coming out of the gross settlement before they see a number.
Who fronts the money while the case is pending
Commonly, the attorney's office advances case costs as the litigation proceeds, with reimbursement coming out of the eventual settlement or award. The specific arrangement, including what happens to those advanced costs if the case doesn't result in any recovery, depends entirely on the individual fee agreement.