Contents
Contents:
Conditional Fee Agreements (“No Win, No Fee”)
Under a Conditional Fee Agreement we will only charge you for work done on your case if you win. We will only act under a Conditional Fee Agreement where we assess your case has merit and you have a reasonable prospect of success. Personal injury claims and disrepair claims are commonly run under “no win no fee” (Conditional Fee Agreements). Under this scheme no costs are paid by you unless your claim is successful and you receive compensation.
If you win, your opponent will usually pay some of your legal costs or be ordered to do so. We can then recover some of our costs from your opponent. You are likely to have to make a contribution towards your legal costs from any compensation recovered: we cap that contribution to 25% of damages . Model Law Society Terms and Conditions apply setting out your rights and responsibilities under our Conditional Fee Agreement.
In all our personal injury cases we arrange “After the Event” insurance policy to protect you against liability for costs where your case is lost. The insurance policy premium is paid only at the end of the case, and only if you win. The insurance premium cannot be recovered from your opponent if you win the case and will be deducted from your compensation in the event your claim is successful.
Private Funding Arrangements and Legal Expenses Insurance
We explain how charges are calculated at the outset of the work, who will undertake it and their charging rate. We will provide our best estimate of the entire work, or the particular stage we are handling for you.
If you already have existing legal expense cover we can explain whether your policy is suitable and can be used to fund your legal costs.
Legal Aid
What is Legal Aid?
Legal aid is a system of government funding and is administered by the Legal Aid Agency. Dowse & Co have Legal Aid contracts in housing and family law.
Will I qualify for Legal Aid?
To obtain legal aid you need to satisfy a merits test and a financial eligibility test. To be financial eligible, your income and capital needs to be below a certain level.
You can check if you are eligible for public funding by:
● using the Gov.uk eligibility calculator or
● contacting the Civil Legal Advice direct on 0345 345 4345.
Divorce Case Funding
Legal Aid to assist clients with divorce proceedings is no longer available save in exceptional instances where the client is both financially eligible and there is evidence of domestic abuse.
Undefended Divorce: Fixed fee of £900 plus VAT, excluding the Court fee. When you apply for a divorce, you must pay a court fee of £612*. The cost of getting a divorce is the same whether you apply together or by yourself. No-fault divorces, introduced in the UK in April 2022, allow for joint divorce applications. For straightforward cases, this is the only court fee you will pay for your divorce.
*You may be able to get help with court fees or not have to pay a fee at all if you are on a low income or get certain welfare benefits. This is called being ‘exempt’ from paying court fees. To see if you are eligible, please see the link below:
Probate
Our highly experienced probate team offer a free initial meeting to assess your needs. After that, fees are calculated on an hourly rate basis, from £165 to £300 per hour (plus VAT). Fixed fees are available in some cases from £1,500 – £5,000 plus VAT. The team assesses each case and its funding on an individual basis and will provide you with a clear quote at the start of your case and regular updates throughout the matter. More information can be found at our Costs and Service Transparency page.