How and when you pay for legal fees is referred
to generally as 'funding'. Getting the right
funding for your legal issue is a key factor
in achieving a good outcome. The right funding
depends on the particular circumstances. The
principal options are: pay on an hourly rate
basis. Agree a fixed fee for a piece of work.
pay a fixed monthly fee. Enter into a 'no
win no fee' agreement, or: Enter into a damages
based agreement. There is no 'best' funding
option, it really depends on your circumstances
and the circumstances of your particular case.
With an hourly rate, as the client takes all
of the cost risks, this can be the cheapest
way to fund litigation, But the downsides
are you have to pay all of your fees before
you recieve the benefit of the litigation
and you cannot be certain of the total costs
because the fees are not fixed. Fixed fees
produce certainty about costs, however because
the solicitor is taking a risk that the matter
will be more complicated than say average,
they might charge a slightly higher price
to reflect the extra risk they are taking.
With a fixed monthly retainer we agree the
extent of the legal cover you need and agree
an appropriate monthly fee with you. This
option creates high levels of certainty and
can be very cost effective in a busy period.
Because you can cancel at any time there is
no real downside though we are unlikely to
cover you for pre-existing disputes. No win
no fee agreements can be a great way of funding
litigation, if you do not have the money to
fund it yourself. If you don't win, you don't
pay the costs of your solicitors. The downside
is that you win, you'll pay a success fee
on top of the solicitors hourly rate. This
success fee cannot be recovered from an opponent
and will come out of your damages. Damages
based agreements behave in a similar way to
no win, no fee agreements - except the solicitor
and the client agree that the solicitor is
entitled to a fixed percentage of the sum
recovered. Whether it takes a day or three
years to achieve. At Helix Law we offer all
these funding options. We start by completing
a thorough and detailed analysis of your particular
situation before reaching an agreement with
you. If you would like to discuss funding
options for your dispute in further detail
then simply call or email us, and we will
be happy to help. Alternatively you can find
more information about all of our funding
options on our website.
