A contingent fee in the United States or conditional fee in the United Kingdom is any fee for services provided where the fee is only payable if there is a favourable result. In the law, this is the "no win, no fee" system. If the lawyer wins the lawsuit for the client, the lawyer is entitled to the normal fee (based on hourly billing plus a profit element) plus a success fee. One pays a fee as renumeration for services, especially the honorarium paid to a doctor, lawyer or member of a learned profession. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Law Law topics overview List of areas of law List of legal topics List of legal terms List of jurists List of legal abbreviations List of case law lists List of law firms Further reading Cheyenne Way: Conflict & Case Law in Primitive Jurisprudence, Karl... In the United States, a lawyer is a person licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in courts of law and in other forms of dispute resolution. ... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in order to recover a right, obtain damages for an injury, obtain an injunction to prevent an injury, or obtain a declaratory judgment to prevent future legal disputes. ...

Discussion

In principle, a lawyer's "stake" in a civil case might take one of three main forms:

1. No charge if the case is lost. It might be agreed that the normal fee will be reduced or waived in full if the client loses. This category is sometimes called the "speculative fee" system.
2. Nothing charged if you lose; normal fee and success fee if you win. This is the standard type of conditional fee. The client need pay no fee to his lawyer unless the case is won, but he is then liable for normal fees plus a success fee. The amount of the success fee is limited to 100 per cent of the normal fees. Most lawyers charge a success fee which is much less than this, for example, between 25 and 50 per cent.

In English law these two possibilities are now lawful, subject to compliance with the statutory scheme. The lawyer must take great care to satisfy the statutory formalities, notably the need for him and his client to sign, and the need to explain carefully the contract to the client.

3. The fee is contingent on success and is calculated as a share of the damages. This is the system operating in the U.S. and it allows the attorney to recover a percentage of the value of any eventual judgment (or settlement) won by the client. This system is invalid under English common law.

English law is the law of England and Wales, rather than Scotland and Northern Ireland. ... A judgment or judgement, in a legal context, is synonymous with the formal decision made by a court following legal proceedings. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ...

Advantages

1. In those countries that operate some system of legal aid, i.e. state support for civil litigation, permitting this system may reduce the state's expenditure.
2. It will allow those who fall outside the scope of state-funded legal aid schemes, but cannot afford the high fees charged by many lawyers, access to the system.
3. Because lawyers are risking their own money if the case is lost, it will tend to reduce the number of speculative or unmeritorious cases.

In general Most liberal democracies consider that it is necessary to provide some level of legal aid to persons otherwise unable to afford legal representation. ...

Disadvantages

1. This creates a conflict both between a lawyer's duty to his client and the lawyer's private interest, and between the lawyer's private interest and his primary duty to the court and to the interests of justice. For example, a conditional fee agreement might induce a lawyer to settle a case for too little because the lawyer wants to make a guaranteed return on the firm's investment in a particular case. This ignores the client's right to receive the highest possible level of compensation for the loss and damage suffered.
2. There may be problems of over-charging because lawyers faced with prospective clients desperate to litigate may be able force an agreement for extravagant success fees. Although a success fee can be challenged by the client or, more likely, by the losing defendant who becomes liable to pay, this does not happen often. The system can also reward lawyers for devoting excessive hours to a case because the "success element" is often calculated by reference to the number of chargeable hours. Further lawyers hoping for promotion, wish to be seen as profitable, a particular risk where lawyers charge by the hour, rather than agreeing a lump sum in advance for the whole job.
3. An improvement in access to justice is not guaranteed. Litigants with good cases may be refused because lawyers and insurance companies prefer to "cherry-pick" only the strongest claims which are "near certainties". Not all cases are immediately transparent. Some require extensive investigation before the chances of success can be properly assessed. Such cases might be turned away because even the initial assessment of their strength is costly and risky. This is a serious problem because there is no general safety-net for cases which do not attract conditional fee support.
4. If the level of recoverable costs increases in more cases, this increase has to be borne by members of the public and companies who pay premiums for liability insurance.

A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... Lady Justice - allegory of Justice as woman with sword and with book - statue at court building. ...

Conclusion

Conditional fees are a pragmatic, admittedly also a problematic, response to a social and political problem: the exclusion of most ordinary people from civil justice. The risks in the system are therefore worth taking.

The UK law

In English law, conditional fees were introduced by the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 and expanded in 1998 to cover most civil actions, other than cases concerning domestic violence matters or the welfare of children. English law is the law of England and Wales, rather than Scotland and Northern Ireland. ...

North America

In North America, contingent fee agreements are legal in the United States and Alberta. In other Canadian provinces, an attorney may collect a percentage of recovery in case of a victory, but must charge an hourly fee otherwise. Contingent fees are entirely barred the Province of Ontario. Many countries prohibit contingent fees as entirely unethical. Most jurisdictions in the United States prohibit working for a contingent fee in family law or criminal cases. Motto: Fortis et Liber (Strong and free) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong Premier Ralph Klein (PC) Area 661,848 km² (6th) • Land 642,317 km² • Water 19,531 km² (2. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English, French (in some areas) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 106 24 Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 4th 1... Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including, but not limited to: the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships; problems during the marriage including spousal abuse, legitimacy, adoption, child abuse, and child abduction the termination of the relationship... for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. ...

Proponents of contingent fees point to the fact that they allow persons seeking civil remedies to obtain legal assistance without having the money to pay a lawyer up front, thereby increasing access to the courts. Look up Civil in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The word Civil is derived from the Latin word civilis, from civis (citizen). Used as an adjective, it may describe several fields, concepts, and people: Civil death Civil defense Civil disobedience Civil engineering Civil law Civil liberties Civil libertarianism Civil marriage Civil...

However, critics of contingent fees point out that many lawsuits seem to be brought only to generate fees for lawyers without giving any benefit to the vast majority of clients. For example, recent class action suits were settled for no monetary benefit for the members of the public, but generated large cash fees for the lawyers. The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 prohibits this practice in class actions commenced after February 2005. In addition, many critics point out that some lawyers will settle a case quickly to generate a larger profit, even when going to trial would most likely be in the best interests of the client. In law, a class action is an equitable procedural device used in litigation for determining the rights of and remedies, if any, for large numbers of people whose cases involve common questions of law and fact. ... The U.S. Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, 28 U.S.C. Sections 1332(d), 1453, and 1711-1715, grants federal courts original jurisdiction over certain mass actions and class actions (forms of civil action) in which the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million, and any of the members...

Some tort reform proposals in the United States seek to further regulate contingent fees. Florida passed a law limiting contingent fees in medical malpractice cases. Some object to these laws as an unfair restriction on freedom of contract. The term tort reform is used by supporters of the controversial contention that reform of the American civil justice system to reduce litigations adverse effect on the economy is desirable to describe those proposed and enacted changes. ... The basic definition of medical malpractice is an act or omission by a health care provider which deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community causing injury to the patient. ... Freedom of contract is the key public policy that underpins the law of contract and justifies a legally enforceable system of bargaining as a benefit to society. ...

References

Andrews, Neil H. A. "English Civil Procedure: Three Aspects of the Long Revolution" [[1]]