No-Win-No-Fee Problems & Tactics Explained!
What Client's Should Know Before Agreeing to a NWNF
If you are looking for a no win no fee lawyer(NWNF) do not fall for the tricky marketing. We explain how to assess the risks.
NWNF does not mean you do not have any financial risks! You do! We explain the benefits and advantages below in more detail. No win no fee arrangements cannot be used in certain areas of the law, such as family law.
How Does No Win No Fee Work?
Technically speaking you will receive from the law firm:
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A conditional costs agreement or
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A contingent costs agreement
These documents govern the relationship between you and the lawyer on terms that are not written to favour you. The law firm only agrees to start work on your matter and may or may not agree to pay for disbursements such as expert reports and barrister fees. There may be a litigation funder who will also take a large percentage.
The bottom line is:
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You may be liable for costs
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You receive far less than what you thought you would
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Your legal costs are increased by more than 25% (uplift factor)
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You have little control over when to accept a settlement amount
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You cant leave or exit without a substantial “break” fee
The sum you may eventually get after all the costs and fees deducted may be as little as 20% to 30% of what you initially were promised or thought you could get. Your legal costs will be higher and you will have less control of the outcomes.
Not Every Case Can Be Run On A NWNF
We offer these arrangements on a case-by-case basis. Before we offer you a No Win – No Fee arrangement, we must be satisfied that:
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Your claim has legal merit
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Without the arrangement you could not afford to take legal action
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You’re fully aware of any likely costs to prepare and run your case
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You’re informed of the risk of paying the other party’s costs if your claim is unsuccessful. This is a potential risk in all litigation.
Why Is Goldman Lawyers Different?
Key Questions For Clients
1. Does Goldman Law provide NWNF or deferred Fees?
Yes. We limit the number of matters to select cases and where it does not exceed more than 15% of our total caseload. In other words this is not our main business and we don't have lots of lawyers sitting there with nothing to do but take on speculative cases and churn these out like a litigation factory. Many of the firms that do the majority of their business this way operate in this manner. IF you want to be part of a factory mass market lawyer approach, then please use the other firms. This is not the Goldman Law approach.
2. How do you qualify for our expert and boutique NWNF legal services?
If you have a strong case then you are also concerned about the effort and seniority of the law firm and the dollar outcomes. If you are prepared to give away more than 50% of the potential damages award, then you couldn't care less in the first place and anything you get is a bonus. If you are a speculator and please go to the mass market firms.
3. What is my likely outcome and why will it be better?
Our approach to NWNF cases is exactly the same as for our full fee paying clients. We do not change our approach or method and this provides you with a better result because you get personalised attention from senior lawyers. We also deal with barristers that have the same approach. We invest in larger outcomes. Not just lots of small wins t feed our hungry teams of layers who need fees.
4. What about litigation funding?
We have arrangements with or have spoken with the majority litigation funders.= in Australia, the US and Europe. Litigation funding can be a case-by-case assessment by the funder but litigation funders do not like to fund personal injury or ambulance chasing claims
5. What about NWNF in Wills and Estates?
We look at these very carefully as we have more than 30 years experience in trusts, estates wills. We are also accredited mediators and most of these disputes are settled in mediation. Be careful of law firms that do not have this experience. They may have come from ambulance chasing and are now known as Coffin chasing lawyers and will settle the case for a lesser amount or not defend the case properly if they lack the underlying expertise to conduct the matter all the way to a final hearing,.
6. What type of NWNF or deferred fee arrangements does Goldman take on?
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a. Disputes concerning Wills and Estates
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b. Sexual Abuse vs Institutions
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c. Selected PI matters
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d. Class Actions
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e. Matters that match our specialist practice areas (Family law can only have deferred fee arrangements) such as; Trust, Commercial and Complex Litigation.
7. We also look at complex and commercial litigation on a mix of NWNF and Deferred Fee arrangements?
Our core expertise is in financial, commercial, structuring and planning. This also allows us to undertake complex litigation with outstanding results. We do the planning for clients on how to avoid litigation and therefore a better place to know the weak points if we are challenging another firm in Litigation or defending such claims. Either way, we are best placed to evaluate alternative fee arrangements or proposals in such matters.
Meet Our Litigation Senior Lawyers
Jaswinder (Jas) Sekhon
Jaswinder strives to simplify and demystify complex legal
matters, to explain them logically and without “jargon”.
He resolves and commits to the best possible commercial
outcomes for his clients.
Mathew Nott
Mathew handles the tough charge negotiation with police and brings innovate thinking to defending our clients in Court. His record is outstanding. He will stand shoulder to shoulder with you from the beginning to the end of your matter.
The Untold Truths About NWNF
No matter which law firm you use, most no-win no fee agreements will contain certain clauses which you need to be aware of.
Can I Continue Without Settling?
In many cases, no. The question of what is a reasonable settlement will be left to your lawyers to decide, not you. The lawyers have the most to gain and the most to lose and therefore the assessment of what is a reasonable settlement is a crucial area that is often overlooked by potential clients.
What Is A Reasonable Settlement?
Read your cost and disclosure agreement. It usually means whatever the lawyer thinks is reasonable.
Am I Liable For Costs If I Lose?
You may well be. Costs are discretionary usually follow the cause, meaning that the winner usually has a right to seek costs against the loser.
Do I Have To Pay For Disbursements?
Sometimes. In a NWNF, the law firm already has barristers that it seeks to work with and medical experts for example. If you are not happy with these experts then you may need to pay for any additional disbursements?
Our Unique “No-Win No Fee” Service
Goldman lawyers provides a personalised and specialised service when it comes to no-win no fee arrangements. We only take on matters where we have capacity and feel that the client may have a particular hardship or have suffered a particular injustice.
With our particular expertise on medical and health law, we are well-placed to consider or defend personal injury actions.
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