What are the Pros and Cons of a No-Win-No-Fee Claim?

If you’re tempted to take legal action, whether to address medical negligence or a personal injury, then you might have heard of a no-win, no-fee claim. Also known as a Conditional Fee Arrangement, a no-win, no-fee contract is between you and your lawyer. It stipulates that you’ll pay for costs and expenses incurred using the compensation you’ve won. If your claim is unsuccessful, then you won’t have to pay anything.

So, what are the pros and cons of this way of doing things? Let’s consider some of them.

The Pros

Firstly, you won’t have to pay if you lose. All the risk is thus assumed by your solicitor. This is typically made viable through ‘after the event’ insurance. This ensures that the solicitor’s expenses are covered in the event of a loss. Of course, insurers are only able to cover solicitors which the expect a reasonable rate of success from.

Secondly, if you lack the cash to pay a deposit, an arrangement of this kind will provide you with access to justice. You don’t need a lot of cash to hand in order to get the ball rolling, which means, in theory, that everyone can pursue their case.

Finally, it’s worth noting the incentives at play. It’s in your solicitor’s interest to identify cases that are likely to succeed, and to prosecute them competently. If they don’t win, they don’t get paid; thus you can be reasonably sure that solicitors who operate on this basis and have managed to keep the lights on will be fairly good at it.

The Cons

No-win, no-fee solicitors are naturally risk-averse. If a case looks like it stands a reasonable chance of failure, they’ll steer clear, preferring to wait for low-hanging fruit to dangle. This selectivity is what makes the arrangement viable, but it means that marginal cases are excluded.

Moreover, the no-fee part of the arrangement is dependant on your decision to insure. Your solicitor should be able to apprise you of the possibilities, and make recommendations depending on your circumstances. The overwhelming majority of solicitors will charge a success fee, and thus you won’t receive 100% of the amount awarded. Of course, a fraction of something is better than the whole of nothing, but it’s still worth making sure that you understand all of the risks before proceeding.

With all of this said, it should be noted that the solicitor is the one who will end up paying if the case is lost. Therefore, they’ll have more of a say over your overall legal strategy. If you don’t agree with the way they’re going to play things, you might find yourself powerless to control the situation.

So, what are the pros and cons of this way of doing things? Let’s consider some of them.

The Pros

Firstly, you won’t have to pay if you lose. All the risk is thus assumed by your solicitor. This is typically made viable through ‘after the event’ insurance. This ensures that the solicitor’s expenses are covered in the event of a loss. Of course, insurers are only able to cover solicitors which the expect a reasonable rate of success from.

Secondly, if you lack the cash to pay a deposit, an arrangement of this kind will provide you with access to justice. You don’t need a lot of cash to hand in order to get the ball rolling, which means, in theory, that everyone can pursue their case.

Finally, it’s worth noting the incentives at play. It’s in your solicitor’s interest to identify cases that are likely to succeed, and to prosecute them competently. If they don’t win, they don’t get paid; thus you can be reasonably sure that solicitors who operate on this basis and have managed to keep the lights on will be fairly good at it.

The Cons

No-win, no-fee solicitors are naturally risk-averse. If a case looks like it stands a reasonable chance of failure, they’ll steer clear, preferring to wait for low-hanging fruit to dangle. This selectivity is what makes the arrangement viable, but it means that marginal cases are excluded.

Moreover, the no-fee part of the arrangement is dependant on your decision to insure. Your solicitor should be able to apprise you of the possibilities, and make recommendations depending on your circumstances. The overwhelming majority of solicitors will charge a success fee, and thus you won’t receive 100% of the amount awarded. Of course, a fraction of something is better than the whole of nothing, but it’s still worth making sure that you understand all of the risks before proceeding.

With all of this said, it should be noted that the solicitor is the one who will end up paying if the case is lost. Therefore, they’ll have more of a say over your overall legal strategy. If you don’t agree with the way they’re going to play things, you might find yourself powerless to control the situation.