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.
Why the written agreement requirement matters here
North Dakota requires a contingent fee agreement to be in writing and to explicitly state how the fee is determined, including the percentage the attorney will be paid. That requirement focuses on the fee itself — it's worth separately confirming, in the same written agreement, exactly how case costs will be handled: whether they're deducted before or after the fee percentage is calculated, and what happens to advanced costs if there's no recovery at all.
The order of deductions can change what's left
Whether costs come off the top before the fee percentage is applied, or whether the fee is calculated on the full gross amount with costs deducted separately afterward, can meaningfully change the final net amount. This is a detail worth asking about directly rather than assuming, since fee agreements handle it differently.
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 if the case doesn't result in any recovery, depends entirely on the individual fee agreement.