'No-win-no-fee' is common phrase for a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which exists between an individual and their law firm as a mechanism for dealing with the cost of legal services.

Types of legal services covered

Such an agreement applies to commercial matters and personal injury claims, whether in a public place such as a road, or private place such as at work. Family and criminal matters are not covered.

What are legal costs?

They're the cost of legal services, including expenses (disbursements) incurred by your lawyer, such as medical report fees in pursuit of your claim. Also, the opponent will incur legal costs and expenses in defending your claim.

What legal costs are covered?

Claims are taken on the basis that if the lawyer is successful, then basic legal fees are paid and the lawyer can charge an extra fee known as a success fee, which cannot be more than 100% of the basic fee.

These fees and expenses are usually paid in whole or part by the losing party. You remain liable for payment of any shortfall in your lawyer's costs not ordered to be paid by the losing party. On winning, you should receive 100% of the compensation awarded in your claim.

If your claim fails, you won't have to pay the legal costs of your own lawyer, but you may be responsible for payment of the successful opponent's legal costs.

If I lose, how can I protect myself from paying the other side's legal costs?

If you decide to make a claim, your lawyer should arrange legal expense insurance to cover this risk, known as 'after the event' (ATE) insurance, for which a premium is payable.

This is an insurance policy you take out after the incident has happened and at the point the CFA is entered in to.

It should cover the opponent's legal costs and your own disbursements if the claim is lost at trial. Even if you win and there is a shortfall in recovery of your disbursements, they should be covered by the insurance.

Other types of legal costs funding

You will need to check if you already have 'before the event' insurance (BTE) under your household content or car insurance or credit cards.

Your lawyer will help you identify whether you have BTE. If you do, then you don't need ATE insurance to cover legal fees for your own lawyer or the other party if you lose.

This legal expense insurance cover may be automatically included within the main insurance policy or purchased at a small premium as an addition to it. It is worth noting that you have freedom of choice as to which legal firm acts for you, you should not have to use the insurance company's panel solicitor.

Entering into a CFA

A lawyer would normally conduct a risk assessment and provided they have complied with the regulations surrounding such agreements, and are satisfied about the prospects of success of your claim, the agreement can be entered into.

Can I cancel a CFA?

As a consumer, there is a seven-day cooling-off period to cancel the agreement at no detriment beginning with the date when you receive notice of the right to cancel from the lawyer.

During that period you can cancel the contract by serving a written notice indicating that you wish to cancel it.

The notice does not have to be in any specific form. If you exercise your right to cancel, then you're not liable to pay for work done before the cancellation unless you made a written request for the performance of the agreement to begin before the end of the cancellation period.

What next?

Please contact us on 03700 86 86 86 to talk about your claim. There'll be no cost to you for the initial discussions and if we believe we can help you we'll arrange appropriate funding for your claim.

If you'd rather contact us online, please visit www.access-legal.co.uk

Once an initial discussion has taken place, and following a successful risk assessment, your lawyer will contact you and begin to pursue your claim in the best way possible to ensure a successful outcome.

Our offering 

Our specialist teams act for clients of all ages and capacity who've been involved in a wide range of accidents. We offer: 

• free initial no obligation advice
• no-win-no-fee 
• tailored advice and service for individual clients 
• dedicated case worker

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All documents should be read and used in accordance with the terms and conditions. This document is for your general information only and is not a detailed statement of the law. It is provided to you free of charge and should not be used as a substitute for specific legal advice. If you require specific legal advice please contact our helpline on 03700 86 86 86.