Conditional fee agreements (Commonly known as “No Win No Fee” agreements) were introduced by the Legal Services Act of 1990. The aim was to open up access to justice to everybody regardless of your means.
Taking legal action against someone can be very expensive. For example, if you had an
accident at work as a result of your employer’s fault, you may need a personal injury solicitor to help you to claim compensation. However, you must think how you will be paying your solicitor’s fees.
Under the “No Win No Fee” system, your solicitor may agree to help you without payment until the claim is completed. If you win, your solicitor’s fees will be paid by your employer’s insurers; if you lose the case, your solicitor will receive nothing.
Since there is a risk of not being paid if the claim is lost, your solicitor will first assess the strength of your claim at the very beginning. If he is satisfied that your case has a good chance of succeeding, he will agree to represent you on a “No Win No Fee” basis.
Your solicitor is taking a risk of not being paid anything if your claim fails. As an incentive for your solicitor to take the risk of not being paid, the law permits your legal representative to charge an extra fee above the normal hourly rates. This extra charge is called “Success Fee”. If you win your case, your employer’s insurers will also pay your solicitor’s success fee in addition to the hourly rate.
You should be aware that when you take another person to court, you have to worry not only about your own solicitor’s costs but also your opponent’s fees. If you lose your case, you may still be required to pay the winner’s costs.
You may already have legal expenses insurance as part of another insurance policy or you may be a member of a Trade Union.
If you already have legal expenses cover usually sold with car insurance or house insurance policies, you might not need to enter into a “No Win No Fee” agreement with your solicitor. The legal expenses cover will pay for your solicitor’s costs as well as your opponent’s costs if you lose your claim.
Similarly, if you are a member of a Trade Union, your union may agree to help with your legal costs.
If you are not a Trade Union Member and do not have legal expenses insurance, your solicitor will arrange for you what is known as “After the Event Insurance” (ATE).
ATE will be taken out once your claim has started. It will cover the expenses paid by your solicitor such as court fees, medical report fees and your opponent’s costs if you lose your case. The policy gives you confidence to fight your case all the way without worrying about the consequences in case you lose.
The ATE insurer will charge a premium, but in most cases you do not have to pay it upfront because it is deferred until the end of your case. If your claim is successful, your opponent will pay the premium in addition to your solicitor’s costs and other expenses. If you lose your case, you will not pay the ATE premium because in most cases, the premium is self-insured. All the ATE policies we take out for our clients are provided with self-insured premiums. This is why we are able to
Guarantee 100% compensation.
You are entitled to full compensation without any deduction if you are claiming personal injury compensation under the “No Win No Fee” system. We guarantee this at Balinda &Co.
Asiimwe Balinda
Personal injury solicitor