Consider the agency relationship in malpractice cases under a contingency fee system. The plaintiff (party that sues) typically pays his or her attorney about one-third of any monetary damages that are awarded (and nothing if the case is lost). Supporters of this system claim that client and attorney share a common goal of maximizing the award. Is there, however, an inherent conflict between attorney and client in the amount of attorney time and other resources that are devoted to the case?