The attorney's fee: compensation for the work
The contingency fee is the attorney's own compensation for handling the case — calculated as a percentage of the settlement or award. 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.
Missouri requires the order to be spelled out
Rule 4-1.5 of the Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct requires a contingency fee agreement to specify whether litigation expenses are deducted from the recovery before or after the attorney's percentage fee is calculated. This isn't a minor technicality — it changes what the client actually keeps, even at an identical stated percentage.
Why the order genuinely changes the number
Calculating the fee as a percentage of the full settlement before subtracting case costs applies that percentage to a larger base figure than calculating the fee after costs have already come out. On a meaningful settlement with real litigation expenses, that difference in methodology can add up to a real dollar amount — worth confirming explicitly in the written agreement rather than assuming either approach.
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.