Conditional-fee agreements (CFAs), or no-win, no-fee agreements as they are also known, are a special type of fee arrangement between a solicitor and their client. A CFA allows a claimant to pursue their claim on the basis that they will only have to pay their solicitor’s fees if their claim is successful. If you have a legal claim and are considering entering into a CFA, there are a number of things you are advised to check. No-win, no-fee solicitors will charge a success fee on top of their ordinary fees if they successfully win your claim. The success fee is their reward for taking on the risk of your claim without the guarantee of receiving their legal fees at the end. It can be anything up to 100% of the solicitor’s normal fees. A success fee of this amount could severely diminish the value of your compensation. Therefore it is highly important to check the percentage that will be charged as a success fee, and when a success fee will be charged. In some cases, the CFA may state that a success fee will only be charged if it can be recovered from the other side.

It is also important to check the CFA for any hidden costs that may not be apparent at first. For example, who is responsible for all the disbursements? Disbursements are costs that a no-win, no-fee lawyer will make on your behalf in order to further your claim, such as court fees, expert witness fees, and medical report costs. In most cases you will be responsible for paying these. You should check the CFA to determine when you are expected to pay these. It is possible to obtain legal expenses insurance to cover disbursements if you are worried about the cost of these.

In addition, you should check the terms of the CFA that contain the circumstances that allow the no-win, no-fee solicitor to cancel the CFA and charge you for their fees incurred so far. These circumstances include:

  • You refuse to cooperate with your no-win, no-fee solicitor
  • You agree to settle outside of court against your solicitor’s advice
  • You refuse to settle out of court against your solicitor’s advice

If you have any queries about what is contained in a CFA, you can contact another solicitor for independent legal advice before you sign. In addition, you can check the no-win, no-fee solicitor is an accredited member of the Personal Injury Panel or the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers as they must maintain certain standards.

Last Updated on 29/08/2011





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