Gowing Law Solicitors fund the following cases on a no win no fee basis.
- Housing Disrepair
- Personal Injury
- Payment Protection Insurance Tax Claims
What is No Win No Fee?
The legal term ‘No Win No Fee’ usually relates to a contract you have with your lawyers which states that if you don’t win your case, you won’t have to pay any legal costs, so there’s no financial risk to you. No Win No Fee contracts can usually be in the form of Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs), Contingency Fee Agreements (CCFAs) or Damages Based Agreements (DBAs).
How do No Win No Fee claims work?
Basically, they allow you to pursue an injury compensation claim secure in the knowledge that if the claim is unsuccessful, you won’t owe us any money. So it’s really just a way of helping you to seek rightful compensation, without taking any financial risks.
What happens if I lose a No Win No Fee compensation claim?
A No Win No Fee agreement covers you from having to pay your legal fees should you lose your case. This means in the event that you did lose your case, you wouldn’t be charged any legal fees.
In most cases, when funding your case through a No Win No Fee agreement, we also take out an insurance policy known as ‘After the Event insurance’ (ATE) on your behalf to cover any additional costs, such as court fees, surveyor fees and medical fees. Again, if you did lose your case, you wouldn’t have to pay the premium of this policy, meaning you will not have to pay a penny.
An exception to this rule would be if it was found that you’d acted dishonestly or maliciously in making the claim or if you’re found in breach of your agreement with us. In this case, you might be liable to pay costs.
We always ensure that you have the full facts straight from the very beginning.
How much will my solicitor get paid if I win?
For Personal Injury of Housing Disrepair, If you win your case, the insurer of those to blame for your injury or illness will pay your legal costs. The amount of legal costs we charge depends on how many hours of work had been undertaken in order to win the case. They will also pay disbursements, which are any additional expenses such as court fees, surveyor fees and medical expert fees. It could be a straightforward case which takes several months to come to a conclusion, or it could be a complex case with serious injuries which takes several years.
When lawyers take on cases on a No Win No Fee basis, they run the risk that if the case is lost, they won’t get paid for any of the work they’ve done. This is why if the claim is successful and you receive compensation, law firms can charge a fee, known as a success fee. We like to agree a success fee at the start of any No Win No Fee claim. We’ll charge you 25% of your compensation if you win, you will also be responsible for any after the event insurance premium taken out on your behalf. If you lose your case, you’ll not be charged, so there’s no financial risk.
For employment cases we are not able to recover any fees from your opponents. Our fees will therefore be met by you. We will charge 35% of your compensation if you win, you will also be responsible for any disbursements incurred, these fees will be discussed with you in detail before we incur the fee and can typically be the cost of representation at a tribunal hearing. If you lose your case you’ll not be charged by us, however if you proceed to a hearing and need representation from a barrister, you will be responsible for these fees. These fees will be discussed with you before they are incurred.
How much will I pay?
In all matters, if you lose your claim you will pay us nothing.
In employment cases as detailed above you may still need to pay your barrister fees.
Personal Injury and Housing Disrepair
If you win your claim we will deduct 25% of your compensation, excluding the costs of repairs to your property, towards our legal fees as detailed above plus the cost of any after the event insurance premium taken out on your behalf.
Payment Protection Insurance Tax Claims
If you win your claim we will deduct 40% of your compensation towards our legal fees as detailed above.
