What is no win no fee and how does it work?
A no win no fee arrangement is often known as a conditional fee agreement. It’s the contract between you and your no win no fee solicitor.
No Win No Fee means if you don’t win your no win no fee claim, you pay nothing to anyone – it’s as simple as that.
If you win your claim, your solicitor will typically make the following deductions from the compensation you are awarded:
- A ‘success fee’ for winning the claim.
- The other side will usually be required to make a payment towards your legal costs and expenses but any shortfall may also be deducted from your compensation.
- The cost of the premium for any legal protection insurance you may have needed to ensure your claim is risk free.
You keep the rest and this will always be the majority of the compensation awarded to you. The deductions we list above will only be made when your compensation is paid. There are no upfront costs and no hidden charges.
Your solicitor will explain all this in detail at the start so you know what to expect if your claim succeeds.
At the start of the claim, your no win no fee solicitor may need to take out a special legal protection insurance policy for you. It pays the costs if your claim were to fail and ensures claiming is risk free. Insurance must always be in place just in case that happens.
They’ll do this if you don’t have an existing legal protection policy that has appropriate cover. This type of legal cover sometimes comes with your home or motor insurance or as a credit card benefit. It’s a simple thing to check and your no win no fee solicitor will do so when they start work on your claim.
Because you pay nothing if you lose your case, no win no fee arrangements take all the risk out of making a claim.
Making a claim on no win no fee terms is subject to your solicitor:
- Agreeing to handle your no win no fee claim in the first place.
- Ensuring appropriate legal protection insurance is in place.
- Judging that your claim always has good chances of success – that is, always 50% or higher.
You will need to make sure you stick to the terms of the insurance at all times.
Sometimes no win no fee terms won’t be possible, but this is rare. If that’s the case, your solicitor will tell you immediately and explain your options about what to do next.