Good question (and a popular one)! In most cases we are paid from the money we recover from your landlord—think of those personal injury commercials where they say "No fee unless we win!"

Under both Chicago and Cook County security deposit law, it is a tenant’s right to have the landlord pay all attorney fees if the tenant is successful. Thus, our fee is tacked onto your claim and is paid by the landlord once we collect the funds. If we do not collect anything, we are not paid.

The primary exception to this is high-risk cases. If we feel your case is too high risk to handle on contingency, we may offer a non-contingency arrangement - which you are free to decline.  

Fees are discussed in depth during the free phone consultation.

The value of a tenant's claim depends on what law applies and also whether there are claims beyond security deposit claims. 

In general, the maximum claim value for a stand alone deposit case is 3x the deposit, plus fees and costs. If there are additional claims, this amount can be higher.

Most cases settle and most landlords expect a discount for a quick settlement. Moreover, often a tenant doesn't dispute that some damage was done or the tenant really wants to avoid court. All of these things can impact settlement value. 

In my experience, it is extremely rare for a tenant to recover less than their full deposit, plus fees and costs. Most tenants receive additional funds ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. 

All that said, when it comes to settlement, it is always the client's decision. No attorney can force settlement upon a client and the tenant can be as aggressive as they like.

Unfortunately, if the rental unit at issue is not located in Cook County we can almost never help. The reason for this is that security deposit law outside of Cook County is not tenant friendly. 

We only help non-Cook tenants on an hourly basis and we understand most tenants are not willing and able to pay hourly attorney's fees.

Generally, the size of the building does not matter in Cook County. Most units from single family houses to high rises are regulated.

There are some situations where the law is different for smaller buildings, but this is something I will address if applicable.

The length of time a landlord has to return a security deposit depends on the location of the apartment.

In Chicago, a landlord has 45 days.

In Evanston, a landlord has 21 days.

In the rest of Cook County, a landlord has 30 days to return the deposit.

First off, deductions must be legitimate. That means the deductions can only be for unpaid rent and property damage beyond ordinary wear and tear. Landlords may not deduct for pre-existing damage, property improvements, or damage caused from normal use.

If there is a deduction for damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, the landlord must send a proper itemized list and paid receipts within the time frame set forth by Chicago or Cook County security deposit law.

Deposit deductions are limited to unpaid rent and property damage beyond ordinary wear and tear. A deduction for any other reason is a violation of the law.

Maybe.

If the tenant only allegedly owes rent for overstaying a day or two, then the case might be viable. Additionally, if rent is allegedly owed for failure to give sufficient notice of non-renewal, the claim may make sense. We evaluate these situations on a case-by-case basis.

We never take cases where the tenant owes a month or more of rent for time they actually resided in the unit unless the deposit was more than a month of rent. These cases are too risky for both the tenant and our firm.

Many tenants think they need to formally dispute deductions in writing to preserve or create a viable legal claim. This is not true. Once a landlord violates security deposit law, the legal claim exists.

Some tenants are able to resolve their claims informally with their landlord, but others harm their claims by making admissions, coaching their landlord on the law, or using foul language. 

The best way to dispute deductions is to let a professional do it for you. Remember, this is one of the few areas of law where you don't need to hand over thousands of dollars to get professional help.

It is difficult to predict the length of a case, especially if it goes to court. This is because the landlord's posture and will to fight is the most important factor.

A case that settles prior to filing a lawsuit typically takes about two months from preparation of the demand letter until the tenant receives settlement funds.

A case that goes to court can take a year to 18 months on average, but a longer or shorter duration is possible. 

Anything is possible in legal disputes, and attorneys are ethically prohibited from guaranteeing results. That said, we screen cases very carefully and have the experience to spot just about any weakness. One of the purposes of the free initial consultation is to evaluate any risks in the tenant's case and determine if moving forward is in the tenant's best interest. We aren't shy about telling a tenant their case is just too risky.

We like happy tenants (and like to get paid for our labor), so we only take cases we think will be successful.

The majority of cases never go to court, so those tenants will not see the inside of a courthouse. In fact, few tenants ever come in to the offices - the whole matter is handled over the phone and email.

If a case is filed in court, it is possible the tenant may have to come to court for an arbitration. If the case makes it to trial (this applies to a small percentage of cases that are filed), the tenant will almost always have to come downtown to testify (though video testimony has become more common due to COVID-19).