The Basics

If you are looking for Bishop’s Cleeve no win no fee solicitors, the main point is that these agreements may be available across the UK, but they are not offered by every firm or for every type of claim. A no win no fee arrangement usually means the solicitor’s payment is linked to whether the claim succeeds, with the exact costs, deductions, and responsibilities set out in the agreement. To check whether your enquiry may be suitable, get a free consultation with First4Lawyers, who can help find a solicitor offering a no-win-no-fee agreement for your specific circumstances.

People often search for no win no fee help because they are worried about paying legal costs upfront, taking on risk, or being left with costs if a claim does not work out. The important thing is to understand the wording before agreeing to anything, including what counts as a successful outcome, what may be deducted from compensation, and whether insurance or other case expenses are involved.

Conditional Fee Agreements

No Win No Fee is a term in the UK commonly used to describe Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs) between lawyers and their clients. In general, a CFA can allow someone to bring a claim without paying the solicitor’s usual fees upfront, with payment usually coming from a successful outcome. If the claim is unsuccessful, the client’s payment obligations to their own lawyer may be limited, but there can still be other costs to understand, such as disbursements, opponent costs in some situations, or insurance premiums. Some clients use “After the Event” (ATE) insurance to help cover certain risks if the claim is lost. Not all types of cases allow no win no fee arrangements, and family and criminal cases do not allow CFAs to be used.

Types of Cost Components 

There are several cost components to be aware of when comparing the benefits, limits, and possible drawbacks of a No Win No Fee Agreement, especially if you want to understand what may still be payable and what may be deducted from compensation:

• Basic Charges or Standard Fee – Fees associated with legal work done on behalf of a client.  Typically based on the number of hours spent and hourly rates associated with the staff involved with case. Different lawyers in Bishop’s Cleeve will have different fees for their day-to-day work, and these can vary between practices, and between qualified solicitors within a practice.
• Disbursements – Payment for expenses made on behalf of the client including but not limited to court fees, experts’ fees, accident report fees and travelling expenses.
• Success Fee or “Uplift” To compensate for the cost of lost cases, lawyers typically are allowed to add a success fee or ”Uplift” in the CFA.   This is usually a percentage (not more than 100%) of a lawyer’s basic charges that is added to a client’s bill for which they will seek to recover from the other party if they win the claim.
• After the Event (“ATE”) Insurance Premium – Cost of Insurance as part of a no win no fee agreement to indemnify the costs and disbursements of the lawsuit.  Usually purchased at or after the start of the litigation process.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• Because the cost to the client is linked to the outcome of the case.  For an unsuccessful case, there is the possibility that the client pays little or no cost.
• Required disclosure of a CFA to the other party may encourage earlier settlement as the other party’s cost will increase in line with the level of the success fee.
• Any damages awarded to the client will not be eaten up by the success fee, as the success fee will in most cases be payable by the opponent.

Disadvantages

• There is no privilege, nor privacy attached to the funding arrangement in place. The existence of the CFA must be disclosed to the other party at the outset of the litigation and the risk assessment has to be disclosed to the court and if necessary to the other party when costs are assessed.
• A CFA gives the lawyer a financial interest in the litigation and because of this they are inclined to take control of the strategy and resolution of the litigation.
• Unless the client buys ATE to cover the winning party’s costs, the client is still at risk to pay those costs.

To search for a specific solicitor, try the Solicitors Regulation Authority website, which lists all the law firms and people regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Alternatively, if you want a no-obligation conversation about whether a Bishop’s Cleeve no win no fee enquiry may fit the usual process, visit our partner First4Lawyers for a free no-obligation chat.