The Basics

If you are looking for no win no fee solicitors in Whickham, the main point is that availability depends on the type of claim and the agreement a solicitor is willing to offer. Some firms serving Whickham and the wider Gateshead area may handle personal injury or medical negligence enquiries on this basis, while others may not offer it for every case. To check whether your enquiry may fit a no-win-no-fee arrangement in Whickham, get a free consultation with First4Lawyers, who can help match the enquiry with a solicitor offering the right type of agreement.

Conditional Fee Agreements

No Win No Fee is a common UK phrase for funding a claim without paying a solicitor’s usual legal fees upfront. The formal agreement is often a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). In broad terms, if the claim succeeds, the solicitor may take a success fee from certain parts of the compensation, and the agreement should explain how that fee is calculated. If the claim is unsuccessful, the position can still depend on the paperwork: disbursements, such as medical reports or court fees, and the risk of the other side’s costs may need separate attention. Some people use After the Event (ATE) insurance to help manage those risks. Not every legal matter can use a CFA, and family or criminal cases are generally outside this type of arrangement.

Types of Cost Components 

When comparing a No Win No Fee Agreement in Whickham, it helps to look beyond the headline phrase and check the cost wording carefully. The points below explain the main terms that often appear in this kind of agreement:

• 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 Whickham 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.

If you want to check a named firm or solicitor, the Solicitors Regulation Authority website lists law firms and individuals regulated by the SRA. For a more general Whickham no win no fee enquiry, you can also visit our partner First4Lawyers for a free no-obligation chat and ask what type of claim, fee agreement, success fee, insurance and disbursement wording may apply before deciding whether to continue.