| It has been ten years now since no win no fee rules | | | | fees, meaning solicitors could charge up to 100% |
| were extended and applied to the majority of civil | | | | more on top of their usual fees to cover to risk |
| court cases. Many feel that this has changed the | | | | involved. |
| face of personal injury law and certainly altered the | | | | The law also changed meaning that legal aid would |
| publics’ perception of personal injury lawyers. | | | | not be available in personal injury cases. In |
| With the introduction of no win no fee, a whole host | | | | consequence CFA’s rose in popularity and more |
| of compensation firms sprang up, focusing on | | | | compensation firms acting as middlemen sprang up, |
| personal injury and encouraging victims to claim. | | | | advertising relentlessly. |
| Every day we are bombarded with adverts from | | | | The change brought about a lot of negative press |
| these firms citing successful cases and offering to | | | | with headlines claiming that “Legal 'vultures' are |
| win you thousands of pounds of compensation for | | | | making £2m out of the NHS each week” or |
| minor everyday accidents. | | | | “Compensation culture is killing equestrianism" or |
| The adverts hammer home that you could and | | | | "Compensation culture wrecking small firms”. |
| should claim as you can take legal action with no risk | | | | The public is led to believe that the UK is in the grip |
| or cost to yourself. Anyone who has caused you | | | | of a claims culture where everyone is making their |
| injury will be held accountable for their actions and | | | | little penny out of any minor accident. Personal injury |
| you will receive a healthy cheque. | | | | lawyers are seen as money grabbing, inflating their |
| Conditional fee agreements as they are known were | | | | fees for no win no fee cases causing a drain on the |
| introduced in 1995 and extended to most civil court | | | | public purse. |
| cases in 1998. They were designed to secure justice | | | | Martin Bare, president of the Association for Personal |
| for those stuck in the middle, who could not afford | | | | Injury Lawyers rejects this perception, saying that |
| lawyers yet did not qualify for legal aid. | | | | “there is no gravy train. The perception arises |
| Minister at the time Geoff Hoon had this say about | | | | because people don't think that for the cases that |
| them: | | | | you win, there's another that you lose, for which you |
| “No-win no-fee conditional agreements will result | | | | get nothing.” |
| in better access to justice. Access will be given to | | | | Lawyers blame the claim management firms, for |
| the many people who fall between those who are | | | | whom the changes in the law “gave them a |
| very rich or those who are so poor that they qualify | | | | model where they could afford to bombard you and |
| for legal aid. In future, the question of whether one | | | | me with endless advertisements. That is what makes |
| gets one's case to court will no longer depend on | | | | people believe that there is a compensation |
| whether one can afford it, but on whether one's | | | | culture” says Mr Bare. |
| case is a strong one.” | | | | Indeed statistics do not demonstrate a particular rise |
| No win no fee agreements then became even more | | | | in the number of compensation clams made. The |
| attractive the following year when legislation was | | | | number of cases registered to the Compensation |
| introduced which would mean that all legal costs were | | | | Recovery Unit has barely changed year on year since |
| reclaimed from the losing side. With this came uplift | | | | 2000. |