Conditional Fee Agreements are commonly known as ‘no-win-no-fee’
agreements. These agreements can be used in almost all sorts of personal injury
cases. This type of agreement works as a framework for the services provided by
compensation claim solicitors. Due to the widespread use of these contracts, ‘no
win no fee’ as a phrase has become immensely popular, and overused as well. It
may seem that these contracts are all advantageous for the claimants or the
accident victims. In actual, this type of legal service contract has its own
set of advantages and disadvantages. Check out these pros and cons here below.
Advantages of no-win-no-fee agreements
- Costs are defined and
proportionate: A CFA reads like this, if you do not win a case, you won’t have
to pay the solicitor (you may need to pay the disbursements, courts fees and
the legal costs of the other party). But it is stated in every CFA that the
claimants need not pay anything to the solicitors for the services provided by
them. Moreover, costs are clearly defined and are linked to probable
compensation payout. Reputable no win no fee solicitors try to get 100%
compensation on behalf of their clients, which means that they won’t have to
worry about paying the dues after winning a case.
- After the Event arrangements:
Even if the case is lost, you will be safeguarded from paying the legal cost of
the other party if special arrangements are made. Personal injury solicitors
who work on no-win-no-fee basis arrange After the Event insurance coverage
plans for their clients.
- Higher chances of
out-of-court settlements: If the opponent comes to know that you have entered a
CFA, you may get a chance to avoid the complications of court proceedings. They
will understand the fact that they have to reimburse your legal cost in case of
losing the cases. Therefore, they are likely to go for an out-of-court
settlement.
- The constant rush: No win no
fee lawyers work in a goaded manner because they know that they won’t get
performance incentives (Success Fees) from if they lose the case to the
opponent. Therefore, they work proactively and put their level best in winning
these cases.
Disadvantages of no-win-no-fee agreements
- Whenever you enter a CFA, you
must notify the opponent about your move. The risk analysis report receivable
from your solicitor muse be submitted before the jurors and, if required, you
need to show the report to the other party as well. This way, the defendants of
compensation claim cases get to know the potential loopholes of the claims
filed by their opponents. This is marked disadvantageous by many legal experts.
- There are many no win no fee solicitors
who do not want to take up cases that have apparently low potentials. In many
cases, it has been found that the cases that some solicitor firm refused to
take were later assessed highly potential and were awarded as well.
- Recent reports suggest that
counterfeit solicitors have grown in number. These solicitors attempt to
persuade people in filing impossible and unreasonable claims.
No win no fee reforms
are in progress and it can be expected that these unscrupulous activities would
be banished in the near future. For the time being, trust only authorized
solicitors who have proven track records.
