NO WIN NO FEE SOLICITORS

We are "no win no fee solicitors" and most people who have heard this phrase assume it means that their personal injury claim will cost them nothing. In practice this is correct, but the law at present makes lawyers jump through a number of technical hoops to enable this to occur. This is why you are told you must agree to a “conditional fee agreement” or “CFA” which is an extremely long letter drafted in solicitors legal jargon at its worst!

So why is it so complicated?

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The Indemnity Principle
The law at present states that any legal costs awarded on a case actually belong to the claimant and not the lawyer. If a claimant is not required to pay for their lawyer, then at the end of the case whilst they will receive their compensation, the paying party, known as the defendant, will not be required to pay costs. Clearly if no costs are payable, either the solicitor will not act, because they will not be paid or the claimant will have to pay their solicitor directly. However there is one effective exception to this rule which is the conditional fee agreement.


The Conditional Fee Agreement
This is a very long letter which sets out exactly how no win no fee solicitors legal fees can be paid. It has to contain specific words to enable a lawyer not to require any money from a claimant whilst they are acting for them during the case, but if successful, creates an obligation on the claimant to pay costs. As soon as there is an obligation for the claimant to pay costs, the defendant must pay the costs.


No Win No Fee Solicitor
If the claimant is not successful no costs are payable. This means there is no risk on the claimant bringing the claim. If the claim is successful, at the point of success, the defendant is required to pay the costs.


Success Fee
Conditional fee agreements, contain success fees to take into account the times that a lawyer does work for a claimant but is not successful. In a claim it is not always obvious who is at fault. In a car accident, both cars might have been irresponsibly speeding. In an accident at work, the employee might have done something reckless which caused the accident meaning the employer is not responsible or only partially responsible. To take into account these difficult situations the third party insurers must usually pay a success fee when a case is won to compensate the solicitor for the other times when a case is lost and the solicitor receives no fee.


Insurance
The final piece of the jigsaw that ensures a claimant does not have to pay legal costs is an insurance policy. Many people already have insurance built into their car or home insurance policies. This type of legal expenses cover is called before the event insurance, as you already have it before the accident. However if you do not have this type of insurance, you can obtain after the event insurance. This insurance covers you against having to pay the defendants legal costs in the unlikely event that the case goes to trial at court and is lost.

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If we represent you we guarantee:

You receive 100% of your compensation

We work on a No win No fee basis - win or lose there are no fees

You deal with regulated solicitors from the moment you call

Your claim is completely risk free.

Make an enquiry with us TODAY!

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