We take contingency-fee employment cases. We look for them — in Virginia, and nationally when the claim is federal or when we partner with local counsel. If your livelihood was hit by illegal employment conduct and you need a contingency lawyer who will share the risk, you are in the right place.
What we do not do is underwrite thin files: a half-finished timeline, a single DIY Word dump, or a matter and client that goes quiet after signup. Contingency employment litigation is easy to do poorly and hard to do well. Later posts in this series will dig into summary judgment and why so many cases die there. That difficulty is exactly why we ask clients to build a real case file in Cloud Counsel first.
Who this is for (and who it is not)
We are interested in helping people whose lives have been affected by unlawful employer actions — discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage issues, and related federal and Virginia claims — when the facts can support a good-faith claim with real damages.
We absolutely do not take frivolous or bad-faith claims on contingency. Optional tools in the app do not change that. Paying for AI document review, a Legal Assistant session, or other a la carte help can clarify any file; it does not buy a contingent-fee offer. If underwriting finds no ethical, financeable claim, we will not make an offer — and that is the right outcome.
If you are hurt and unsure whether your case is “strong enough,” do not self-reject. Uncertainty is not frivolous. Start the free file, get the story out of your head, and apply when you are ready. Underwriting decides strength; you decide whether to show up and build.
Why Cloud Counsel comes first
Attorneys have always needed the client’s story out of the client’s head — dates, documents, people, goals, and what was lost. Cloud Counsel is a rigorous, lower-friction way to do that work inside a privileged matter:
- We will need this information anyway in cases that move toward litigation counsel.
- When clients build their own files, they save money and we can evaluate more matters — which is how we find not just okay cases, but great cases with strong facts.
- If you want contingency representation, sign the contingent-fee application in the app. That is the formal ask. You can apply when ready and keep building — applying does not create litigation counsel until a written agreement is signed.
- Complete the case file so underwriting can actually see the claim.
For the product tour, read What is Cloud Counsel. For how contingency works at this firm, start with contingency-fee employment law.
Step 1 — Start a free Cloud Counsel case file
Go to Start Your Case and open a Cloud Counsel matter. There is no charge to build. Your timeline, documents, and messages sit in a privileged environment designed for employment disputes — not a consumer chatbot thread.
Step 2 — Complete the file the way underwriting reads it
Committed clients get attention. Aim for a file that is honest, navigable, and complete enough to underwrite — in roughly the order Cloud Counsel walks you through it:
- People involved in the story
- Organizations involved (employer, HR, agencies, and related entities)
- Documents uploaded (emails, reviews, policies, termination letters, pay records, and the rest of the paper trail)
- The whole timeline, with dates and enough detail to unlock the story
- Damages you can point to (lost wages, out-of-pocket costs, and other economic loss — non-economic harm is often a jury question)
- Wigmore questions answered so critical gaps in the file get filled
- AI document review so uploaded evidence is read for relevance, privilege, key facts, and timeline links
- Employment relationships, plus goals and concerns, stated clearly
You do not need perfection on day one. You do need more than an abandoned matter or a lone .docx labeled “timeline.”
Step 3 — Optionally deepen the file (not required)
When you can afford to accelerate insight:
- A Case Strength Report to stress-test claims, limitations risk, and defenses on the current record
- Wigmore conversations and suggestions for guided fact-finding inside your matter
- An a la carte Legal Assistant session with transcription that lands a structured conversation into the file (assistants do not give legal advice)
These purchases exist because clearer files are cheaper and fairer to evaluate — not because spending unlocks an offer from us.
Step 4 — Apply for contingent-fee representation in-app
When your file is ready — or as you keep building — apply from your dashboard at no cost. Matters that move forward include an underwriting questionnaire covering merits, defenses, damages, and litigation economics.
Percentages and cost rules are on Fees & Pricing.
Applying does not create an attorney-client litigation engagement until a written agreement is signed. Acceptance is never guaranteed.
What underwriting is looking for
In plain terms, contingency underwriting asks:
- Is there a good-faith legal theory with usable proof — not a speculative or bad-faith grievance?
- Are damages large enough relative to the cost of litigation?
- Will the case likely survive summary judgment posture? (We will unpack that problem in a later series post.)
- Is the employer (or insurer) a realistic source of recovery?
- Can we ethically and economically carry this matter?
If you want the structural “why intake is hard” story, read why it’s so hard to get contingency counsel for your employment case.
Who gets attention
We are looking for committed clients who build out the case file and, where we find a good-faith claim with damages worth financing, move toward a contingent-fee offer.
Clients who disappear, leave the file half-built, or only upload a DIY timeline document should expect little underwriting attention. That is not a moral judgment. It is how scarce screening hours get spent when a contingency employment lawyer is financing years of work.
If we say yes
When we offer contingency counsel, it comes as a written engagement — typically a Contingency Litigation Agreement with J. Madison PLC. Litigation contingency fees at this firm are generally 40% of any recovery under that agreement path; see Fees & Pricing for current terms. Applying still does not become representation until you sign.
If we say no — or another firm is a better fit
Your file stays yours. Keep building for free. Use a la carte help if you want a focused consultation. Retain us hourly if you need counsel driving the case now. Our co-counsel affiliate network is live and actively recruiting — another path for organized files when we are not the right contingency fit, including when an affiliate makes a contingent-fee offer through Cloud Counsel.
Start
The one step that is free and always available: build your case file. When you are ready, apply for contingent-fee representation from that same matter.
Attorney advertising. General information — not legal advice. Reading this does not create an attorney-client relationship. Outcomes depend on specific facts and law; no result is guaranteed. An attorney-client relationship is formed only by a signed engagement agreement. J. Madison PLC — Virginia.