Options for funding litigation

Private Funding

Like most solicitors, we charge for our dispute resolution services on an hourly rate basis, with the client paying for the legal fees and disbursements for the work undertaken.  At the point of instruction we will provide an estimate of costs, based on the hourly rate of the team members and our experience of having undertaken similar matters. We will of course let you know, in advance, if these costs are likely to change for any reason.  We will also provide you with invoices on a periodic basis to ensure that you are kept up to date with the costs being incurred.

It may be that we can agree a fixed fee for the work required or you can let us know if there is a cost limit and we will conduct as much work as we are able up to that limit.

Before the Event Insurance

Before agreeing any fee arrangement it is important to identify if you hold any ‘Before the Event’ insurance; cover which can be called upon through pre-existing insurance policies which were taken out before the dispute or reason for the litigation arose.  Such policies may provide legal costs cover for various types of disputes and we advise all of our clients to check their business insurance policies immediately and contact their insurance companies to clarify any possible cover the policies provide in relation to legal work.

 After the Event Insurance

An ‘After the Event’ insurance policy is one which can be entered into after the dispute has arisen and can be used to protect you against the risk of any payment ordered by the court to your opponent for their costs.  ‘After the Event’ insurance is only available for those cases where the insurer considers the prospects of a successful outcome are good and therefore your matter will be subject to an assessment. This can assist with cover for the other side’s costs and your own disbursements if you should lose.. Please note however that the premium for such a policy is not a cost that is recoverable through the courts and is payable by you

It is normal for ‘After the Event’ insurance policies to be used in combination with a Conditional Fee Agreement to protect you if you are unsuccessful, but they can be entered into independently if required.

Conditional Fee Agreement (no win, no fee)

A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is a contract that allows you to have a ‘no win, no fee’ or a ‘discounted fee’ arrangement. It is a contact between you and us to cover legal fees payable by you based on the outcome of your dispute.

Naturally, we go through a risk assessment with you prior to entering into a CFA and the outcome of that will depend on many factors including the merits of your case, the value of your claim and likelihood of recovery from your opponent.  We will undertake a risk analysis of your case and discuss the same in detail with you.

• No win no fee arrangements are the most commonly known whereby you will not be liable for our fees if you are not successful in your case.  We would charge no fee if the case is unsuccessful. If the case is successful, we will charge a success fee (in terms of a percentage of the standard base costs) as well as the normal fees.
• In a discounted conditional fee arrangement you will agree to pay our fees at a discounted rate during the course of the matter and will only pay the balance to make up the full fees due if your case is successful. You also pay a success fee is your case is successful.  We are therefore sharing the risk of the litigation with you.

Both types of agreement can include a success fee of up to 100% of our basis charges which will be payable should your case be successful.  Please note that you cannot recover the success fee from your opponent, even if you are successful.

Please call us to talk through which funding options might work for you with one of our litigation team on the following numbers

For our Bromley office please call 020 8464 4242, for Sevenoaks call 01732 457575, for London it’s 020 7481 2422 and for our Surrey offices call 01372 750100. Or email enquiries@wellerslawgroup.com and let us know about your circumstances.

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