By E. Richard Ogrodowski and Frederick B. This means the plaintiff's lawyer only gets paid if the plaintiff wins, either through a settlement or judgment. The attorney's fee will be a percentage, typically between 33 and 40% of the recovery. With the U.S. and the international economy in a recession though, and with attendant tight corporate budgets, even corporate clients accustomed to paying by the billable hour are exploring alternatives to the traditional hourly fee. The billable hour is the most prevalent form of compensating outside defense counsel in civil litigation.