Cases which may proceed to Court are known as Litigation. It is always difficult to estimate the likely costs of such a case. There are risks and uncertainties including the following:-
1 Whether or not the dispute is settled early
2 Whether the other side will pursue the case all the way to the Court
3 Whether expensive expert evidence will be needed
Although we will not be able to answer all your questions when you first contact us, it is important to let you have details, at the outset:
i) as to how costs are incurred,
ii) how those costs may be funded
iii) any liability that might arise to pay the costs of the opponent
iv) any steps that can be taken to offer protection against liability to pay the costs of the opponent.
This leaflet provides information on some of the funding options rather than providing specific advice. If you require further information on the funding options please ask us.
We cannot be aware of all of the possible insurance policies available to the public. There are new policies being developed all the time. We do not undertake any responsibility to give you best advice on these products. Whilst any policy or funding arrangement which we suggest to you is believed by us to be suitable we cannot guarantee the means or funding adopted by you will necessarily be the most appropriate to your needs. Similarly we cannot guarantee any insurance policy is the cheapest policy available.
Private Funding means that you are ultimately responsible for my costs although if your case is successful you may recover most of those costs from the other side. That does not however discharge you from your obligation to pay my costs. I normally ask clients to fund the disbursements as the case proceeds. That is to say the clients pay to me the expenses that I incur, such as medical report fees. It is however possible to obtain loans to cover these fees.
Once you issue Court proceedings you are technically responsible for the other side's costs if you lose.
Unless you agree with this particular method of funding you will need to sign our standard terms and conditions setting out our charges on an hourly rate basis. We will require you to sign and return our letter and standard terms and conditions. If you wish to may place a limit on the costs to be incurred. We will provide you with an estimate of costs - however it is only a guide as to the likely charges.
This is an agreement where we make no charge if the case is lost, but you are liable to pay your disbursements and opponent's legal charges. If you win, we will charge a success fee on top of the normal hourly rate. Your opponent may be ordered to pay at least part of our charges and disbursements and part of the success fee. You may however still have a responsibility to pay the costs or part thereof and part of the success fee to us. It is important that you realise that if a Conditional Fee Agreement is entered into, we will be sharing the risk with you. We will be entitled to have a say in the conduct of the litigation. If you wish to retain full control over your case then you need to take that into account when decided which is the most appropriate way to fund your case.
We will carry out a risk assessment at the beginning of the case and during it to decide whether we are prepared to take it on or to continue with it. You will have to satisfy yourself whether our proposal in respect of the success fee is fair and reasonable. We cannot recover a shortfall in the success fee from you (save the element that relates to the postponement of the charges) unless the Court permits us to do so.
We may require you to pay for some of this initial investigation into your case before deciding whether to offer a Conditional Fee Agreement.
You may still have to fund the disbursements in such agreements or take a special loan to fund the disbursements.
Accident Line Protect (Personal Injury only)
This firm has an agreement with Accident Line Protect that in all eligible cases where a client enters into a Conditional Fee Agreement, Accident Line insurance will be taken out. We do not benefit financially from this agreement. The cover offered may be more expensive than other insurance policies but we consider that the cost is reasonable bearing in mind the cover provided.
If your case is not eligible for Accident Line Protect Insurance or is a case other than personal injury, we will consider other insurance policies that may be suitable for you. However it is important that you realise we are not brokers.
These are policies which help cover the cost of litigation once the dispute has arisen. If the premium is affordable then it can provide some peace of mind about the costs. Insurance cover can be purchased to protect against:-
1 Your opponent's legal charges
2 Your own disbursements (expenses such as court fees and expert's fees)
3 Your own legal expenses
Many policies require payment only if you fail completely with your case. Some after the event policies which cover both sides costs do not require a Conditional Fee Agreement. The charges and cover vary considerably in respect of after the event policies and if you wish to consider this insurance, please let us know.
Important points about insurance for Conditional Fees and after the event insurance
The problem with all insurance policies is paying the premium. You should consider the following:-
1 The money has to be found for the premium. Sometimes we may be able to help you arrange this. Some policies provide for the premium to be funded by the policy. It may be possible to arrange a loan to pay for insurance and disbursements but you will not usually be able to recover the interest on the loan.
2 The Access to Justice Act makes it possible for the Court to order your opponent to repay your insurance premium if you win. We cannot guarantee that such an order will be made or that the opponent will actually pay that premium.
Premiums for accident cases are usually modest; premiums for other types of litigation tend to be more expensive. In substantial commercial litigation the premiums may be very high.
You may already have legal expenses insurance. This type of insurance is usually paid by annual premium to provide cover for possible future legal problems. You may have, for example, one as an add-on to other policies. The following list is not exhaustive, but you should at least check whether you have legal expenses insurance with the following policies:-
Buildings insurance/mortgage
Household contents insurance
Car insurance policy
Credit card/travel insurance
Membership of an organisation i.e. trade associations
Endowment policy
These insurances are frequently very limited in what they cover and may include restrictions on your freedom of choice of lawyer. If you think you may have such a policy please let us see the details and will discuss whether the policy is suitable to cover your needs.
In certain cases your employer may be prepared to help with your legal fees. You should check whether your employer operates such a scheme.
If you are a member of a trade union, the trade union may be prepared to help with fees. You should speak to your trade union representative.
We will discuss with you whether you are entitled to such funding. This funding is now not generally available for cases arising out of accidents and disputes. There are certain exceptions to this and if they apply will be discussed with you.
The Legal Services Commission will have to be satisfied that your claim is worth pursuing. You will also need to be within current eligibility requirements. If your disposable income is greater than income support, then it is unlikely that you will qualify for such funding without a contribution from you. This firm does not have contracts with the Legal Services Commission to undertake such work
