Friday 28 September 2012

Why is No Win No Fee Free?

The term “no win no fee” is definitely intriguing. This is because anything labeled as “free” nowadays is sure to be greeted with doubts and skepticism. “Surely there must be some catch,” you might be saying to yourself. However, there is really none. So if the question, “Why is ‘no win no fee’ free?” is one you would like to be answered, then read on.

First, here are some facts. In cases where people are injured as a result of the negligence or hostile actions of others, then those people can claim for compensation from their injurers. The people who usually process their claims are called personal injury lawyers.

Now, the term “no win no fee” comes from a possible agreement that they might choose to have to govern their relationship as solicitor and client. Personal injury lawyers can, if they see that the merits of the case of their clients are strong, decide to represent them without asking for payment for the meantime. What they forego to receive at the time the claim is in process are their hourly fees. Ultimately, if the claim is not successful (no win), then their clients will usually not need to pay them anything (no fee). In other words, in the “no win no fee” scheme, personal injury lawyers are permitting themselves to be paid later or not at all for their services.

Again, why is “no win no fee” free? It is because clients can avail of their legal representative’s services on the condition that if these solicitors cannot make their claims successful, then they will not have to pay them anything.

Who then pays personal injury lawyers if the claims they are handling are successful? The answer is the losing side. Should personal injury lawyers be victorious, whether through a settlement or a dispute, all or most of their fees (including a “success fee”) will be provided by the other side. This is a second sense in which the “no win no fee” scheme is free. In the case of a successful settlement, the client would still not pay his or her solicitor anything because he or she will usually receive 100% compensation and his or her solicitor, depending on their agreement, will not deduct the hourly fees payment from it.

In other words, the answer to the question, “Why is no win no fee free?” is that in the conditional agreement entered into by a client and a solicitor, even in the case of a successful claim, clients will still not have to pay their solicitors’ fees since this will be taken care of by the losing side. Thus, win or lose, in a “no win no fee” scheme clients will usually not have to pay their personal injury lawyers’ fees. They enjoy their services for free.

All in all, it should not be forgotten that the aim of the “no win no fee” scheme is social justice. It was meant to be an inexpensive way to pursue this end. Thus, it was made with the poor and the underprivileged in mind. That is why it prioritizes the merits of a claim over the means of its claimant.

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