Funding Litigation
How much will it cost? One, if not the most, frequently asked question a client will ask his litigation lawyer at their first meeting. It is also one of the most important considerations for anyone who is contemplating using the courts to resolve a commercial or personal dispute.
Our lawyers will provide you with the most up to date information about the potential costs of your case at the outset and throughout your case.
We will discuss with you at the beginning of your case what options are available to you to fund legal fees and other costs of your case. These options include the following:-
- Private Funding – where fees are paid by you from personal or company funds.
- Before-The-Event Legal Expenses Insurance – where you have had an existing insurance policy which provides cover for legal fees and expenses. This will often be part of your buildings, contents and car insurance policies.
- After-The-Event Legal Expenses Insurance – where you obtain an insurance policy, after the dispute arises, to cover the legal fees and expenses of the other side in the event that you are required to pay them. We can help you obtain appropriate cover from one of our preferred insurers.
- Conditional Fee Arrangements – an agreement where we agree to carry out work on your instructions, for a reduced fee or no fee, in return for an uplift of our professional fees on the successful conclusion of the case.
- Third-Party Funding – where a third party provides financial backing for a case in return for a proportion of the damages and costs awarded.
- Contingency / Damage Based Agreements – in certain types of action we are able to enter into an agreement by which we carry out work in return for a fixed proportion of the damages paid out by a losing party. The circumstances in which such an agreement can be entered into are restricted; however there are plans underway to extend such agreements to many types of action in future.
The cost of litigating can be the deciding factor as to whether a case is pursued or not, though there are always other reasons why litigation may be the best or only option available. In general if the compensation or damages a client seeks to recover from his opponent is disproportionate to the costs of litigating that dispute, you will need to carefully consider whether or not to pursue the case.
The general rule is that the reasonable and proportionate costs associated with litigating a case in England and Wales can be recovered from the losing party by a successful party, although costs are at the discretion of the Court. This will usually mean that a successful party will recover around 60% – 70% of his/her costs in an action.
Please contact Stewart Wilkinson and Chris Rodda for further information.
