What is a ‘No Win-No Fee’ Agreement

• There is a lot of talk about ‘no win-no fee’ agreements (also known as conditional fee agreements) and, if you read the newspapers and listen to the radio, they appear to be some form of devious device that allows solicitors to print money.

 

Sadly, this is not the case and what they are is a fair and reasonable way of acting for an injured party in a personal injury or similar type of claim.

Claims can be funded by:       

• Private funding  – i.e. you pay your solicitor upfront and, if you lose the case, sorry, but your don’t get your money back
• Legal Expense Insurance – this is a policy that may be attached to another insurance policy you have that provides funding for your claim, sounds good but there can be drawbacks.
• Trade Union backing – fine if you are in a trade union, not so helpful if you are not.

 

If you are unable or unwilling to use any of the above they you may chose to use a ‘no win – no fee’ agreement to pursue your claim. The basic upshot of such an agreement is:  

• If you win your case the Third Party Insurers will pay your legal fees.
• If you lose your case you will not have to pay your legal fees and the solicitor will stand the losses incurred.

 

In addition, if you win your case the Third Party Insurers will pay your solicitors percentage uplift on their costs to reflect the risk taken at the outset.

This percentage uplift can range from 12.5 % to 100 % depending on the complexity of the case, the initial risk and how far down the line the case has gone before it is settled.

Your damages are ring-fenced, that is to say we will not deduct a single penny from your damages and what you settle for you will receive.

Some solicitors may ask you to sign a loan agreement to cover the cost of an insurance policy to cover the other sides costs if you were to go to court and lose your claim. If they do ask who pays the interest on the loan, if it is you thank them politely and walk away. There is no way you should pay the interest on a loan that is used to buy an insurance policy that, in reality, protects their money not yours. If they won’t give you written assurance that you will recieve 100 % of your damages then move on and find a solicitor who will.

If you used ethically and properly a ‘No Win-No Fee’ agreement can ensure that you can bring a claim for injury and loss without the risk of paying the other side’s costs if you lose and retaining all your compensation.

Mike Massen is a practising solicitor with Gartons Solicitors Leeds – 0113 2310766,
mmassen@gartonsolicitors.co.uk
www.gartonsolicitors.co.uk.
Gartons provide quality legal service in the following areas: accident claims,
employment disputes
buying and selling property
criminal injury claims
sexual abuse claims
licensing.

If you have found this article of interest please feel free to forward to other sites etc however I would ask that you give full credit to Gartons Solicitors for such, thank you.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-injury-articles/what-is-a-no-winno-fee-agreement-1775153.html