No Win, No Fee – Nothing to Pay – All to Gain
Funding Your Claim
When considering the financial costs of bringing a claim you need to think about 3 elements.
Your Legal Fees
Your Disbursements
Defendant’s Legal Fees
But do not worry, we have the funding options to keep you protected!
Most of our client’s make use of our ‘No Win, No Fee’ policy, but we must let you know all the funding options available, so you make the best choice for you.
Funding Options
Private Funding
You have the choice to simply pay us for our time on an hourly basis.
If your claim is successful, you can seek recover your incurred legal expenses from the losing party. The benefit of this method of funding, is that if your claim is successful you will keep 100% of your damages.
The risk of this funding method is that, you would pay your legal fees as you went along and if your claim is lost, you would be liable for our fees and essentially out of pocket.
Most clients do not opt to fund a claim privately because of the risk involved if the claim goes wrong.
Before the Event Legal Expense Insurance
Some client’s have the advantage of ‘Before the Event Legal Expenses Insurance’ (BTE).
This is an insurance policy you have before you have a legal problem and is often an ‘add on’ to other polices such as car insurance or home insurance. Package bank accounts often have this as a benefit as well.
If you have the benefit of such a policy, this is best way to fund your claim and it does not affect the main policy premium it is attached to, should you use it.
If the BTE agrees to fund your claim it will cover you for you own legal fees, own disbursements and your opponents legal fees.
The benefit of this funding method, is that if your claim is successful you will keep 100% of your damages because there is no risk involved.
‘No Win, No Fee’ & After the Event Legal Expense Insurance
This is the option most client’s use if they do not have the benefit of Before the Event Legal Expense Insurance and because most client’s do not want to risk paying privately.
What is a ‘No Win, No Fee’ Agreement with After the Event Legal Insurance?
A No Win, No Fee agreement (also known as a Damages Based Agreement or DBA OR a Conditional Fee Agreement or CFA) is an arrangement between you and AG Lucas & Co which means that if your compensation claim is not successful, you do not owe us for the work that we done.
The additional of an After the Event Legal Expense Insurance (ATE) policy covers you against the risk of incurred disbursement and your opponents legal costs.
A ‘No Win, No Fee’ agreement with After The Event Legal Expense Insurance gives you security and peace of mind when making a personal injury claim.
We will assess the prospects of winning your case with the information provided by you (this helps us determine its likely success rate), review all the funding options available to you and consider if you are best supported with a ‘No Win, No Fee’ agreement with After The Event Legal Expense Insurance.
What happens if I lose?
If we are able to offer you a ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement for your case and you decide to accept that offer, you can be reassured that you will not be responsible for our legal charges if your claim is unsuccessful and the ATE policy covers you for your incurred disbursements and any liability for your opponents legal fees (unless you have misled us or provided false information).
Effectively, lose and you are not ‘out of pocket’, which is often the main concern when our client’s make first contact.
What happens if I win?
If you win your claim, you can recover your base legal costs from the losing party and reasonably incurred disbursements.
BUT if your claim is funded by a ‘No Win No Fee Agreement’ & your claim is successful then we will charge you a ‘success fee’ in addition to the base charges and you are also liable for the cost of the ATE premium. This ‘success fee’ will be agreed with you at the start of your case and is usually between 25% – 35% (including VAT). The ATE premium cost will depend on the nature of your claim.
Both the ‘success fee’ and ATE premium are risk assessed and proportionately charged for the risk involved in funding a claim on this basis, i.e. if the claim loses, we do not get paid and your insurer would pick the ‘bill’ up for any disbursements and opponents legal fees, if any. The ‘success fee’ and ‘ATE’ cannot be recovered as part of your claim by law.
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Frequently asked questions.
Can A Will Be Contested?
Yes, a will can be contested if there are valid legal grounds to challenge its validity.
What are the different Types of Trusts?
There are several types of trusts used in estate planning, each serving a different purpose depending on your goals.
What are Examples of Inheritance Trust disputes?
Breach of Trust: Mismanagement of assets by the trustee.
Trustee Removal: Conflicts leading to the removal of a trustee.
Interpretation: Disagreements over the trust’s legal wording.
Undue Influence: Pressure on the creator to change trust terms.
Financial Claims: Beneficiaries claiming they haven’t received their fair share.
What’s the difference between contesting a will and contentious probate?
Contesting a Will:
This specifically refers to challenging the validity of the will itself.
Common grounds include claims that the deceased lacked mental capacity, the will was forged, or they were under “undue influence” when signing it.
Contentious Probate:
This is a broader term that covers any dispute arising after someone’s death during the administration of the estate.
Do I have to go to court to contest the probate?
No, you do not always have to go to court. Most probate disputes are resolved through:
Mediation: A professional mediator helps both sides reach an agreement without a judge.
Negotiation: Solicitors from both sides negotiate a fair settlement privately.
Settlement Agreements: A legal contract is signed to end the dispute outside of court.
Court as a Last Resort: Litigation is only used if all other attempts to settle fail.
