The contingent fee system serves two purposes. First, it allows the injury victim to employ counsel with the skill, experience and financial resources needed to litigate the case on equal footing with the law firm engaged by the defendant's insurance company. Without the contingent fee system many injured persons with valid claims would in effect be denied access to the courts. Second, the system minimizes "frivolous lawsuits." Any contingent fee lawyer who pursues meritless claims will not long endure in the practice of law. Any jury trial can be lost by the plaintiff, and many are. But truly frivolous lawsuits are rare, less common than frivolously defended lawsuits.