The conditional fee agreement (or ‘CFA’) is a funding agreement between client and solicitor where the fees are determined on the outcome of the case. When damages are awarded in a case CFAs were introduced after cuts were made to legal aid and are primarily used in personal injury cases.
A typical fee agreement is the ‘no win no fee’ arrangements where the solicitor will not be paid anything unless the case is won. The solicitor will then take a percentage of that award.
Variations of the CFA agreement include:
The main attraction of a CFA agreement is that the costs are only payable if the case is won. There will however, often be upfront costs as solicitors will often seek the advice of a barrister on the prospects of the case before they agree to act on a CFA. Additionally, as the risk of costs under a CFA is shifted from the client to the solicitor, it is likely that the solicitor will only take if there are very good prospects of success.
CFAs are available to everyone, regardless of means. It is completely at the discretion of the solicitor when a CFA can be used. Most will have strict guidelines within the firm as to when it is appropriate to use a CFA. They are usually used by the claimant, although the defendant is also able to use a CFA.