What does 'no win, no fee' mean?

Unless you have legal costs insurance on your household, personal or motoring insurance, or membership of a Union that covers legal costs for a personal injury claim (often called uninsured loss recovery) the usual method of funding a personal injury claim is by using a Conditional Fee Agreement, also known as a 'no win no fee' arrangement. Legal Aid is no longer available for most types of personal injury claim.

A Conditional Fee Agreement is a contract between you and this firm that we do not charge you for our fees unless your case is successful. The terms of the agreement are closely regulated by law and by the body which governs solicitors, the Law Society.

The 'no win, no fee' aspect of Conditional Fees applies to your legal costs i.e. the costs of your barrister and solicitor. We do not charge you any fees at all for the work we do if the claim is unsuccessful.

If the claim is successful we charge our normal fees but your opponent (known as the Defendant) will normally be ordered to pay your costs and disbursements, because the loser normally pays the winner's costs. The Defendant pays all costs and the Claimant receives his compensation without any deduction, in the vast majority of personal injury claims. The Courts strictly control the amount of our fees.

Although we do not charge fees for our work if we lose, there are still expenses called disbursements (such as a fee paid to a doctor for a medical report proving your injury, or fees paid to the Court to issue Court proceedings) that have to be paid to progress your claim, and if you are unsuccessful, you might be ordered to pay the Defendant's legal costs. To guard against this risk and to give you peace of mind, we arrange an after the event insurance policy.

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