No Win No Fee Guarantee

The firm acknowledges that many injured people become financially distressed as a result of an injury and may not be able to afford the up-front costs involved in running a claim for personal injuries.

We will agree to act on a speculative basis after a careful assessment of the facts and circumstances of your case. To act on a speculative basis means that we undertake not to render an account for our professional costs unless and until the matter is successfully concluded in your favour.

We will also pay for outlays associated with a personal injuries claim, such as expert medico-legal reports (that can amount to thousands of dollars). Many other firms do not offer this service and often require clients to take out loans at exorbitant interest rates to pay for outlays. We do not believe the client who is already financially distressed should have to fund outlays. If the matter is not successfully concluded then we will not seek reimbursement of the outlays. Our belief is that clients must achieve a positive outcome after taking into account repayment of all costs and outlays.

Obligation Free Consultation

We’re happy to offer you an obligation free legal consultation and explain how we can serve you best given your specific circumstances and our “No Win No Fee” Policy.

If a client elects not to proceed following an initial consultation no fee is charged for the service. Only if the client wishes to proceed with the matter and sign a client agreement are these costs charged and only at the successful conclusion of the matter. It is also important to note that sometimes these initial costs can be recovered from other parties.

Costs in personal injury compensation claims

The firm agrees that only in the event of the claim being successful and obtaining damages will the firm render an account for professional fees and outlays. The firm makes it clear that if the claim is not successful no professional costs and outlays will be charged by the firm.

A ‘successful outcome’ means settlement or resolution of the claim in accordance with the client’s instructions or an award of damages made by a Court in the client’s favour. If the matter is not successfully concluded and the client agreement has not been terminated then the firm will not charge any professional costs and outlays to the client.

If a successful outcome is achieved, an independent costs assessor will assess the costs when the claim is finalised based on actual work carried out and pursuant to the client agreement. In some circumstances a portion of your costs may be recoverable from the other side.

Please note that we are not retained by you until our client agreement is signed and accepted by you.

Independent Costs Assessor

Legal fees are charged to the client at the successful conclusion of a matter pursuant to the client agreement.  Our fees are based on a scale determined by Supreme Court and as such are considered fair and reasonable.

Our fees are not calculated purely on an hourly rate or based on a percentage (such as in America). These methods have been criticized by the judicatory as ineffective and unreasonable. In some circumstances a portion of your costs may be recoverable from other parties (called standard costs).

Our fees are professionally assessed by an independent cost assessor. When the matter is concluded we simply send our file to an independent cost assessor who goes through the file and carries out an ‘assessment’ of what costs have been incurred on a ‘per item basis’ based on the client agreement.

The cost assessor determines what is fair and reasonable. The cost assessor must be able to justify the fees to the Legal Services Commission (LSC) should the fees be reviewed.

It is a fair and independent process.

Legal Costs are Recoverable from Other Parties in Some Circumstances

Sometimes clients are able to recover ‘standard costs’ from other parties. These are the costs of the solicitor dealing with the other parties in order to progress a matter. Depending on the matter there can be restrictions on whether you can recover ‘standard costs’.*

Even where recoverable ‘standard costs’ are only ever a contribution towards the client’s total costs and outlays – usually less than half of the total professional costs and outlays.