A trial litigation attorney is a specialist who works primarily with clients who wish to take a case to trial or defend against litigation started by another party. Many litigation attorneys work on a contingent fee basis if representing a plaintiff in the litigation. This means that if the plaintiff does not win the trial or settle successfully, the litigation attorney does not recover a fee. However, many contingent fee agreements do require the plaintiff to cover some of the costs of the litigation. A trial litigation attorney who represents defendants in a litigation usually expects to be paid hourly or in some cases on a flat fee basis with a retainer. A skilled trial litigation attorney can be of tremendous value whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant in a litigation that may go to trial.