Attorney Dan Newlin
 

A couple of questions about the huge awards he claims to get for his clients:
1. Are the awards taxable ?
2. What is Dan’s cut ?
Thanks

Not sure on #1 but I believe #2 is usually around 30%.

Awards are not taxed

Try 40%

Not entirely true. Awards for economic and medical costs are not taxable. Awards that are punitive or for lost wages (except if caused by an injury) are taxable.

Most "awards" are insurance claims, so there are no "punitive damages" involved. These guys seldom go to court, but they are effective in making reluctant insurance companies pay up. If you listen closely to their ads, in many of them they acknowledge as such.

If you are truly looking for a lawyer you need one for the contract that they make you sign. Not only do they usually get a percentage but a lot of them will get a few thousand dollars or more for the paperwork involved and sometimes even up front. That's a huge problem for many poor people

The tax law is specific about taxation of settlements and court awards. In short, settlement proceeds and awards related to personal physical injury or personal physical sickness are not taxable and other settlement and award amounts are taxable (e.g., for lost earnings, punitive damages).
You might Google for the IRS documentation about taxation of settlements for personal injuries for details.

Criminal attorneys are generally awarded 30-40%. In regards to taxes; The general rule of taxability for amounts received from settlement of lawsuits and other legal remedies is Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 61 that states all income is taxable from whatever source derived, unless exempted by another section of the code.

If you have an “open and shut” case against a large corporation with big insurance, I would think the fee would be negotiable. If the award would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions, They may work for a smaller percentage. If not, there may be other lawyers that will, like Morgan & Morgan.

'Open and shut' doesn't matter. Contingency fee applies to all settlements. 1/3 is standard but that % goes up if suit is filed and then goes up again if trial is required. The law firm also gets reimbursed for all costs and fees it spends on the case. Last stats I saw showed the average settlement sees around 65% go to legal expenses.

This is bad advice…..

Google Florida bar association for good advise….

Villager & Florida licensed attorney. Personal injury awards are not taxable by Florida or IRS. Personal injury attorneys generally take 33 1/3% of personal injury awards if it settles & more if it goes to trial or on appeal.

I don’t practice in that field so don’t bash me for what others do.

"Criminal' attorneys never charge a percentage because there is nothing to recover. Their charge is based on the time and complexity of the case. In civil court, the punitive damage portion of settlements and awards are taxable. Also, interest received as part of the award is taxable. Now comes the big one - remember that percentage 40% that you paid the attorney? That is not deductible.

Say you receive $1 million as an award and you paid the attorney $400 thousand as contracted. At this, point, most people think that they got $600 thousand free and clear. However, assume 50% of the award is for punitive damages, emotional distress, etc, and the balance is recovery of expenses for pain and suffering, etc. That $500 thousand is taxable and most probably at 35% or about $175 thousand.

Wait a minute - what about the $400 thousand that I paid the attorney, shouldn't the taxable amount be reduced by that? No, because miscellaneous itemized deductions are no longer allowed.

So, to recap, you received $1 million; you paid your attorney $400 thousand and you paid $175 thousand in income tax. Your net share of the total settlement is about $425 thousand - just slightly more than what your attorney earned.

Why do all those televised smiling and “grateful“ “winners” look so stupid…and uninjured? The wounded and maimed at Walter Reed Army hospital (from serving our country) are really injured and deserve that kind of a payout.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t be able to give driving directions to Winter Garden..”get on Turnpike and go south 13 Dan Newlin’s billboards and exit right, go 3 more Dan Newlin billboards, turn left and you are there”.

Hmmm. If I slipped and fell in Dan Newlins parking lot on a carelessly thrown banana peel, I wonder what the dog fight would look like if I hired Morgan and Morgan to represent me...lol

I googled Dan and found he once worked for Morgan and Morgan. Those ads we see are aggravating. If you notice, the folks are reading the script. One couple smiles as if cued. We TiVo most everything we watch on t.v. so try to skip over the commercials. The insurance ads, the attorneys and one or two others are particularly annoying. You wonder what they pay out for advertising........

When I was still working in banking a client came to me with a settlement proposal from a well known Orlando attorney. She had tripped over a parking block in a church parking lot and was sueing the churches insurance company. The offer was for $10,000. After the attorney's fee and processing fees charged by the attorney's office she would have netted around $3000. Even though the attorney's fee is capped at a % they are allowed to tack on other fees which raises the % they actually get paid substantially

Attorney fees
 

Attorney fees are negotiable always at least in NJ. I have negotiated 33 1/3% for the first 500 thousand, then 25% after and 20% above 1 million.

Huge by what standard? Many California personal injury attorneys have Claims much higher than what I see in Florida.

My question is when these people tout their big winnings; is it before or after Dan has taken his chunk out of it?

Just remember when attorney's like him and morgan the insurance companies have to pay out. Ever wonder why are taxes are riseing at a scary rate.
This includes all insurance rates, home, car, golf carts and any other insurance we buy.

Bunch of crooks robbing us.

i mean insurance rates are rising.

Did he finally clear his name?

Were those stories true?

Why are you asking us and not Dan Newlin????

So, what I get out of this is——-wait for it….. lawyers are bunch of crooks also.:)

You might end up being taxed on the money you pay the attorney too. The answer to your question is not an easy one.

It's a lawsuit mill. You will never talk to Dan Newlin most likely. He is a front for a marketing campaign that he probably runs.

If insurance companies willingly paid out what is fairly owed, you wouldn't need a lawyer to protect yourself.

They are not taking your case without a high likelihood of success. Don’t forget subrogation. Insurance company will want the cost of medical expenses repaid from your victory

Better question is how much of “ Dan got me x dollars” is being paid to the doctor and for the hospital bills incurred in the injury treatment

Not to worry a new law firm is being formed Dewey Cheatum and Howe and they will gobble up the little guys

Attorneys should be compensated for doing all the paperwork, otherwise do it yourself.

the only reason we need lawyers is because the other guy has one

when there's only one lawyer in a town, he barely makes a living

when there's two lawyers in a town, they both become wealthy

I would think that any money spent that is specifically tied to the production of income would be deductible from that total income. This doesn't include your ordinary living expenses like food, shelter, and clothing but should include expenses directly related to producing that income. Just my opinion.

Sadly, we live in a litigious state and society! And whatever you think of personal injury/civil litigation attorneys, you have no idea how powerful the ABA is?! They've been fighting Tort Reform for YEARS!!! And even judges(i.e. former attorneys, also members of The Bar) continually rule in favor of the attorneys, fighting the reform efforts. Sick! That's why our insurance rates are so high. Because the ambulance chasers always go after the insurance companies, vs individuals or small entities, etc. They know where the deep pockets are?!

So true. Someday the ABA will allow the one town attorney to take both sides.

But Dan looks like such a nice young man.

His mom thinks so