Funding Information Sheet
CFA (No Win No Fee)
This information should be read in conjunction with your CFA Agreement, ATE insurance policy (if applicable) and the Client Care Letter. You should keep this Information Sheet safe, as you may need to refer to it in the future.
As you are aware, your matter is funded by a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). What this means is that you will only be liable for our costs if you are successful. However, we would expect these costs normally to be recovered from your opponent. Please note that you will not be able to recover any success fee from the Defendants or the costs of any After the Event insurance policy taken out other than that element of the insurance premium relating to breach or causation and expert evidence in clinical negligence claims.
Our costs are calculated mainly in respect of time spent dealing with your matter, which will include meeting with you and perhaps others; considering, preparing and working on documents and other paperwork; correspondence; making and receiving telephone calls; travel; court attendances; etc. You will be charged for each hour or part of an hour (in 6-minute units) for the work that we do. Routine letters written and routine telephone calls both made and received will be charged at one tenth of the hourly rate per item. Routine letters received will be charged at one twentieth of that hourly rate per item. Non-routine letters and telephone calls will be charged on the basis of the time spent in dealing with them.
The hourly rate applied is dependent on the grade of caseworker who carries out the work on your matter. Details of these rates can be found in your Client Care Letter and your CFA Agreement. VAT will be added to all charges at the appropriate rate.
A costs estimate is provided in the accompanying Client Care Letter. This is not a request for payment, but it is a requirement that we provide you with this information, as there are certain circumstances when you will have to repay some or all of the costs covered under this funding arrangement.
As you are aware, in order for your claim to be funded by way of a CFA we carried out a risk assessment on the merits of your claim and assessed the likelihood of it being successful. This is an ongoing obligation and also requires you to deal with us in a reasonable manner. If at any time we believe that you are not doing so, or that you have been untruthful, we may terminate the CFA, and/or the After the Event insurers may withdraw any insurance cover for your claim.
As there is a risk that if you are unsuccessful in your claim, we would not be paid, we are entitled to what is known as a “success fee”, which is payable only if your claim succeeds. This is a percentage based on the risk we consider your claim to have and is set out in your Client Care Letter. The success fee cannot be recovered from your opponent and will be claimed from your compensation.
If you are successful with your claim, your opponent would generally be required to pay your basic costs, disbursements (such as medical reports) incurred in bringing the claim and the success fee. Any shortfall in costs recovered may come from your compensation. However, we guarantee that we will not take more than 25% of your compensation to pay any shortfall.
If you lose your claim, you would not ordinarily be ordered to pay your opponent’s costs except in the circumstances as set out in the Conditional Fee Agreement. You may therefore take out “After the Event” insurance to cover the potential risk that you still may be ordered to pay the other side’s costs in the limited circumstances as set out in the Conditional Fee Agreement. Whether the claim is successful or not, the premium will not be recoverable from your opponent, other than that element of the insurance premium relating to breach or causation and expert evidence in clinical negligence claims. We do not receive commission for this policy.
The CFA itself sets out the rights of both of us to end the agreement before the claim has been finalised. If we end the agreement because we believe you are unlikely to win, then you will only have to pay our disbursements. If the agreement is ended by you or by us for any reason other than, we believe you are unlikely to win, you will be responsible for paying our reasonable costs to that point. Those costs are calculated by using the hourly rate(s) set out in your Client Care Letter, and the basis of the calculation is set out above. In addition, if the reason we end the agreement is because you rejected our opinion on any proposed settlement and you go on to win your case, you will also have to pay the success fee.
If you have any questions about the information contained in this Information Sheet, or you require anything explaining to you, please contact the office.
