The Rules
Under the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct, all solicitors have become required to consider whether an issue is suitable to get a Conditional Fee Agreement, popularly known as a”No Win no Fee Agreement” by clients but proven to lawyers simply to be a “CFA”. Nevertheless, there isn’t any requirement for solicitors to enter into this type of funding, that’s both advantages and drawbacks for solicitors. The advantage is the fact solicitors can, if successful, charge an uplift, known as a “success fee” on his or her basic costs using their company opponent. The issue with course, is the solicitor is risking all their own costs and further, will not likely get paid before conclusion in the case, which might mean a delay of 12-18 months inside a litigation case, a severe profit penalty. Consequently, many solicitors are unwilling to enter into these kinds of funding arrangements unless they are from the view that this prospects of your client succeeding are virtually certain. This is rarely true, although some people might solicitors will now start such agreements as a question of course since the Standard Model Law Society Conditional Fee Agreement allows solicitors to absolve the agreement without notice if they consider prospects of success are insufficient (usually if below 65%). For this reason, you need to beware of legal advisers who automatically offer such a funding agreement as if it transpires that the prospects of succeeding as part of your claim are insufficiently high you happen to be at risk of simply being dropped once this becomes apparent plus there is very little you’re able to do about it. Remember, in Professional Negligence cases, it’s not at all enough to show that this professional was negligent. Mere negligence is not going to suffice – you have to demonstrate that you might have suffered loss and the professional was the key or substantially contributing reason for your loss. Experienced professional negligence solicitors will get into a straight CFA and definitely will consider the risk meticulously and if the chance is below 65%, can always agree to act within a CFA but can also wish to consider other suitable option, including:
A Partial CFA. On this basis, the solicitor charge you an agreed fee to perform alongside the CFA, which reflects the danger to the solicitor. That way, you don’t have to worry that a case will suddenly be dropped and moreover, if the prospects of succeeding have ended 51%, experienced professional negligence solicitors will usually have access to specialist professional negligence protection plans to pay your opponents costs when you lose the way it is at trial plus your disbursements (for example expert’s fees, counsel’s fees and court issue fees) as you go along.
CFA Less Fee Another option can be a CFA “less” Fee, in which you pay a portion (usually half) on the solicitor’s fees as you go along but will not likely be charged to the other half before end in the case simply if you’re successful. Again, professional negligence solicitors will probably have access to After the Event Insurance (provided the solicitor believes that the prospects of success are in least 51%) to pay your opponent’s fees as well as your disbursements (for example counsel’s fees) if that you are ultimately unsuccessful.