Who will pay my legal fees?
- “No win, no fee” agreement otherwise known as a Conditional Fee Agreement
- Legal Expenses Insurance
- Legal Aid
- Paying privately
“No Win, No Fee”/ Conditional Fee Agreement
If we are confident that you have a good claim for compensation, we will offer to act for you on a “no win, no fee” basis. This means that as long as you stick to your obligations, should you lose, you will pay nothing at all.
We will fund all the expenses as the case goes on, like the fees we are charged for obtaining records, court fees and experts’ fees. We can also arrange for insurance to protect you from paying the other side’s legal fees, at no up-front cost to you.
If we win your case, your opponent will pay the majority of our fees and expenses in addition to your damages. We will charge you a ‘success fee’ for the risk we have taken in not getting paid at all had you lost. You also pay the insurance premium and any fees we can’t recover from your opponent. However as long as your opponent is insured, and you have stuck to your obligations under our agreement, we will limit all standard charges to 20% of your compensation (including VAT).
Legal Expenses Insurance
You may already have an insurance policy to fund the legal fees involved in bringing a claim. Frequently, this is an “add-on” to a policy primarily designed to cover some other risk such as:
- Home insurance or home contents policies
- Car insurance policies
- Credit card insurance
- Employer’s insurance policies
- Private healthcare insurance policies
- Personal accident insurance policies
It is essential that such cover is identified at an early stage. If you do have a policy, we will be pleased to advise you on whether that policy is suitable. Sometimes, although cover exists, the indemnity limits may be too low or claim type may be limited. You do not have to accept the law firm recommended by your insurer. Contact us before you contact your insurer for independent advice from our specialist team.
Legal Aid
Legal Aid may be available where
- someone has been abused as a result of failings by a public authority; or
- a baby has suffered a significant brain injury under the age of 8 weeks.
We have a contract from the Legal Aid Agency to undertake legally aided work in these areas.
If your claim qualifies, and you are financially eligible for legal aid, we will let you know if we think an application will be successful.
Paying Privately
If you would prefer to pay privately, we will let you have our full terms of business including our hourly rates.