PROTECTING YOUR JUDGMENTS, VERDICTS AND CONTINGENCY FEES

• Many personal injury and medical malpractice retainer agreements rightly exclude appellate work — but few attorneys realize their clients can retain appellate counsel under a separate contingency fee drawn solely from the client's recovery, leaving the trial attorney's  contingency fee untouched. 

• This structure was upheld in Stewart v. NYCTA, where the First Department confirmed that appellate counsel may charge an additional fee, so long as the original agreement excludes appeal work and a new appellate retainer agreement is executed.

• As an appellate attorney, I offer this arrangement: I protect your verdict, your fee, and your client — without disrupting your hard-earned contingency. When multi-million-dollar verdicts are at stake, specialized appellate representation can mean the difference between preserving your client's recovery and watching it disappear on appeal.

Recent settlements:

• $11 million settlement for a police officer run over by a tractor-trailer

• $6 million settlement for a high-school student who injured his back playing football

• $5 million settlement for a car-accident victim with traumatic brain injury

• $4.5 million settlement for a construction worker struck by sheetrock

• $3.3 million settlement for a motorist injured when rear-ended by a bus

• $2 million recovery for a janitorial worker with respiratory injuries

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Each case depends on its unique facts and circumstances.

• Kenneth J. Gorman graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2000, where he was a member of the Brooklyn Law Review. After graduation, he served as a senior appellate court attorney for the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department — the busiest appellate court in the country, overseeing a region that is home to more than half of New York State's population.  

• This insider experience as an appellate court attorney at the Appellate Division provides invaluable insight into how appellate courts analyze cases and craft decisions. After leaving the court system, Mr. Gorman entered private practice, where he has successfully argued numerous cases involving multi-million-dollar verdicts, showcasing his expertise in New York law services.

• Mr. Gorman is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, and all New York State courts.