Private Client

Legal Aid was withdrawn for Personal injury claims in 2000. However, there are a number of other options, which mean that recovering fair compensation for your injuries needn’t be a costly process.

A conditional-fee agreement (usually called ‘no win, no fee’) is available for claims where there is a strong likelihood of success. This is often the best way for you to pursue a claim because it removes the risk. If the claim fails, we won’t charge you any legal fees. You may wish to take out an insurance policy to guard against the risk that you might lose, but you can recover your premium for this policy from your opponent. If the claim succeeds, we will earn a success fee (which your opponents will have to reimburse as part of your claim).

Many household or motor insurance policies nowadays include something called ‘legal expenses insurance’ – which will cover your legal costs, as long as your lawyer and insurance company believe you’ve got a valid claim. Sometimes, your insurers will select a law firm for you to use. However, you’re not obliged to use these lawyers and there are often good reasons why you shouldn’t (for instance, they may be a long way away). If in doubt, let us talk to your insurance company: we should be able to offer a more personal and convenient service, and the costs will still be covered by your policy.

Some Trades Unions (and similar organisations) provide the equivalent of legal expenses cover to their members – and may agree to cover the costs of your claim. If you are a Union member, we can approach them on your behalf to seek approval for us to proceed with your claim.

If your claim isn’t covered by any of these arrangements, you may decide to fund it yourself. In this case, we will ask you to pay the costs of the case as it progresses, including an initial sum on account to cover costs such as expert reports and other expenses. We will then keep you updated with quarterly accounts to show costs incurred. If your claim succeeds, the other side will usually have to pay for most, or all, of those costs – and we will then reimburse you for the amounts previously billed.