Funding a claim against a public authority

If we can assist with your case, we will consider and advise upon the suitability of the following funding options:

Legal aid

Because of our expertise the Ministry of Justice have granted us a legal aid contract in the category of ‘claims against public authorities’. This means that if your case and your financial circumstances qualify then we may be able to offer legal aid to fund your case. We will need to assess both the merits of your case and your financial circumstances (your income and savings) and we will advise you whether you may qualify for legal aid or not, and support your application for funding. Any offer of funding from the Legal Aid Agency may be subject to a contribution from your income or savings. Any funding will also be subject to the costs being repaid from any damages recovered if costs are not recovered from the opponent. If your case is accepted then we will discuss the availability of legal aid with you.

Conditional fee agreements

Also referred to as “no win, no fee” agreements. Our specialists will consider whether we can offer a “no win, no fee” conditional fee agreement based on criteria such as the facts and merits of your case and your prospects of success. If we can, then this means that we will fund your case up front, subject to payment by you of any expenses (known as ‘disbursements’). If your claim fails (for example, because you lose or our opinion about your prospects of success changes as more information becomes available), then we will not charge you for our costs. You may be responsible for your opponent’s costs, but insurance may be available to cover this risk.

If we win your case then we seek to recover our costs from your opponent and will also charge a success fee to balance the risk we have accepted (not being paid if we lose). This will involve a calculation of an uplift on your costs based on the case complexity, but we will apply a limit or cap on the deductions to be made from which means we will only deduct up to an agreed percentage from your compensation to pay for our costs.  The success fee is no longer recoverable from the opponent in this type of case following changes to the law.

Private paying

If you don’t qualify for legal aid and your case cannot be funded under a conditional fee agreement then you may be invited to fund the costs of your case privately. All costs must be paid upfront but we will provide you with clear and transparent information about our costs, which will always be competitive.