No Win No Fee
What is a no win no fee? It is an agreement between a solicitor and their client that the solicitor will only get paid if they ‘win’ the case.
Bringing a claim (litigation) can be expensive and risky. Usually you will need to incur that expense and that risk when you have not been paid and cash flow is bad. That is just the point when you have less money and less risk appetite. Lots of claims don’t get made for this reason – however good the claims are. That’s why no win no fee agreements are not only good, but essential. We always offer no win no fee agreements when we recommend to someone that they bring or defend a claim.
We are better able to understand and assess that legal risk posed by litigation and we use our expertise to help businesses recover money they would normally be forced to write off. Writing off good claims or paying a solicitor irrespective of success both seem wrong. We specialise in fixing those problems. Having a good no win no fee agreement in place reverses the power balance.
We believe that we shouldn’t ever recommend that our clients bring or defend a claim unless we are willing to share in the risk and only get paid if the client wins.
We will often need to charge the client for the initial review a case in order to assess whether they should bring or defend the claim. Sometimes the case is very clear and we can go straight into a no win no fee without charging for the initial review and initial advice.
Offering a No Win No Fee is not a special situation for us, it is the norm.
Why would you trust a solicitor who advises you to litigate but refuses to risk their own fee on the outcome of the case? Because we are sharing the risk you can be sure that our advice is commercial and realistic.
A No Win No Fee is not always the best option and we will examine all the other funding options including a fixed fee, damages based agreement or a normal retainer.
If we get the litigation funding structure right our clients can punch above their weight and, working together, we have the best prospects of success.
No win no fee in commercial cases – the truth
Lawyers are unpopular. They’ve held this dubious distinction for so long they even have a whole category of jokes that raises a wry smile even in those of us who actually work in the profession.
Yes, along with politicians, bankers and parking attendants, the legal profession is somewhat maligned. Why? Costs, perhaps (we mean definitely), a widespread perception that lawyers unnecessarily complicate matters, even a sense of separateness, perhaps – a lawyer/non-lawyer divide. From Charles Dickens onwards, literature has been rife with lawyer bashing. And, there’s no escaping that formerly and often currently, should litigation become necessary, you are obliged to settle legal fees regardless of the outcome.
Enter the No Win No Fee concept. With its origins in the United States, the “Conditional Fee Agreement” was introduced into the UK in the mid 1990’s for personal injury claims. Its impact was substantial: fall off a ladder or slip on wet floor and you can do something about it, and importantly, it carried a low risk. Win and you win big. Lose, and you pay practically nothing. Here, have a large cheque and stand up for your consumer or employee rights. Where there was blame there was, literally, a claim.
It sounded very simple and indeed it was, perhaps simplistic. Hailed at the time as a better, more robust access to justice, the No Win No Fee concept spawned our so-called “compensation culture”: a whole industry of worthy folks who could get your money back for you, gratis.
In the field of personal injury claims, the legal profession’s reputation went into a nose dive:
The term “ambulance chaser” was coined, or rather in came into widespread usage: an unpleasant professional slur describing a lawyer who seeks clients affected by accident or injury, encouraging them to sue.
“Claims farmers” threw their hat into the ring. Personal injury companies with zero legal background, expertise or qualifications could – and still do – claim to offer No Win No Fee agreements, but with heavily inflated charges in the services on offer.
Without undue comment on our part, the “uplift” fees charged by lawyers in many CFAs to compensate against potential losses did not exactly go down well in the media, or with the general public.
So, where are we now? No Win No Fee for Commercial Litigation
No Win No Fee has come full circle.
All legal firms are regulated. They are bound by strict, ethical codes of conduct so whilst claims management, debt collectors and recovery firms, as well as the afore-mentioned “farmers” may appeal, we would advise extreme caution.
Litigation carries risk and can be expensive, therefore qualified lawyers and only qualified lawyers with a track record of successful commercial litigation should be part of anyone’s legal short list. And yes, we would say that, but believe us, we know.
No Win No Fee. A Good Thing.
If your business is owed money being asked to settle legal fees regardless of the outcome of your case will be nothing short of disastrous. For most business owners, their cashflow cannot support expensive litigation. Sharing the risk is a compelling argument. A solicitor who refuses to share that risk in case of a loss? Not compelling.
Consider experience, knowledge, skill and confidence of the person sitting opposite you. A lawyer should never accept a case that seems unwinnable, therefore potential claimants must have a strong degree of trust.
At Helix, we strongly believe that No Win No fee is a legitimate and more importantly, sometimes the only viable fee structure. Indeed, a win-win fee structure. Our open, democratic approach underpins all our work and we offer this because we have an in depth understanding of commercial litigation and its myriad complexities.
By the way, although this article concerns No Win No Fee, a fixed fee structure may be an excellent alternative. Knowing in advance what your legal costs will be manages your expectations and helps to keep your business on track.
In conclusion? A good solicitor will listen to you and evaluate your needs. An excellent solicitor will evaluate each and every risk in your potential case and offer to share in it.
Above all by making our clients strong and by sharing their risk we get better results.
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People frequently tell us that we’re approachable and offer great advice.
They also tell us most solicitors are hard to get hold of whereas we’re happy to listen. The reason for this is that we value long term relationships and we’re happy to speak with business people, to invest our time in understanding your business and whatever your concerns are. Only at that point can we understand whether we’re the right people to help you.