Commercial Services

• Commercial Litigation
• Employment for Employers
• Debt Recovery

Individual Services

• PI – Funding Your Claim
• PI – Have you got a Claim
• PI – JSB Guidelines of Damages
• Clinical Negligence
• Conveyancing
• Wills
• Crime

PI – Funding Your Claim

1. What is No Win, No Fee?

If we believe you have a reasonable chance of winning your case, we may offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement ("No Win, No Fee"). This means that, in the event that you lose your case, you would not be responsible for payment of our fees from the date the agreement was entered into.

2. In the event that I lose my case will I be responsible for payment of my fees?

If you lose your case (or you are unsuccessful in defending your case) you will not be responsible for payment of our fees or of our success fee (success fee is explained below).

Throughout the duration of your case we may incur additional expenses on your behalf (for example, Court fees, or Expert's fees), known as disbursements. In the event that you lose your case, you will be responsible for payment of the disbursements we have incurred on your behalf.

In the event that you lose your case you may also be responsible for payment of your opponent's costs, however it is possible to take out "After The Event" Insurance cover to cover this risk (see below). ATE insurance would also cover the cost of the disbursements you incur as the case progresses.

3. In the event that I win my case will I be responsible for payment of my fees?

In the event that you win your case (or you successfully defend a claim) you will be responsible for payment of basic fees and any disbursements with have incurred, together with the success fee (which is explained below).

The usual practice is that both our basic fees and the success fee are recoverable from your opponent, together with any disbursements we have incurred on your behalf.

4. I wish to defend a claim; would you be able to offer me a Conditional Fee Agreement?

If we consider that you have a reasonable chance of defending your case then we will offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement.

5. In offering me a Conditional Fee Agreement you run the risk that you will not get paid if I lose my case. Are you compensated in any way for this risk?

In offering you a Conditional Fee Agreement we are essentially sharing the risk of litigation with you. In the event that you win your case we therefore charge a "success fee". The success fee that we charge reflects the risk we take in that we will not get paid if you lose your case. The success fee also reflects the fact that, if you are successful, we will not get paid our fees until the conclusion of the case.

The success fee we charge is expressed as a percentage uplift on our basic costs. The percentage uplift charged is determined by the particular risks involved in pursuing your case on a Conditional Fee basis.

The normal practice is that the majority of the success fee is recoverable from your opponent in the event that you win your case. The success fee is not payable in the event that you lose.

6. I am concerned about being able to pay for my opponent's costs in the event that I lose my claim; are there insurance policies available to cover this eventuality?

"After The Event" Insurance (ATE) is available to cover the risk of paying your opponent's costs. The premium payable to obtain ATE insurance is dependent upon the risks involved in your particular case.

We will fully explore the option of obtaining ATE insurance with you. If this is something that you would like to consider, we will make enquiries into the insurance policies available to you on your behalf.

7. Legal Expenses Insurance

Although you may not realise it, you may have legal expenses insurance available to cover your case. Before you embark upon any course of litigation we will always ask you to check the terms of any existing insurance policy which you have. Typically, legal expenses insurance is sold alongside home and motor insurance.

Legal expenses insurance usually includes liability which may arise to pay your opponent's costs. Your insurer will normally require that your case has good prospects of success before you are able to secure legal representation under the terms of your policy.

8. Private costs

If we are not able to offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement, and you do not have legal expenses insurance, we pride ourselves on being able to offer you practical solutions at reasonable prices.

If you pay our fees out of your own funds, "After The Event" Insurance is available to cover your opponents costs in the event that you lose your case and are responsible for payment of your opponent's fees. This is something we will explore with you, and if it is something you wish to consider we will make enquiries of the policies available to you on your behalf.