Kenneth Clarke today sounded the death knell for 'no win, no fee' deals that encourage ambulance-chasing lawyers to pursue frivolous cases.
Victorious solicitors will now have to take a share of the damages awarded, rather than claiming huge success fees.
The Justice Secretary also raised the maximum damages which can be awarded in small claims courts from £5,000 to £15,000.
Mr Clarke wants as many people as possible to settle civil disputes through this less bureaucratic system, where costs are kept to a minimum, or by mediation.
Lawyers are not always needed in small claims courts, and many 'no win no fee' solicitors do not operate in them because there is not enough money to be made.
Everybody lodging a civil claim for damages will be forced to consider mediation. A similar move is planned for divorce cases.
Mr Clarke said the aim is to reverse a trend which has seen Britain become a 'very, very legalistic and litigious' society in which huge sums are paid to 'fat cat' lawyers.
Many of those in 'no win, no fee' deals claim success fees of up to 100 per cent of legal costs at the expense of the person or organisation that loses. Some claims are more than 1,000 per cent of damages.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1I1rztfaE
Woe unto you also, ye lawyers
Woe unto you also, ye lawyers
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Woe unto you also, ye lawyers
Hmmm ...
People in Britain are worried that their society is becoming too litigious.
And their solution?
Make the UK legal system more like the US legal system!
Hmmm ...
People in Britain are worried that their society is becoming too litigious.
And their solution?
Make the UK legal system more like the US legal system!
Hmmm ...
Reason is valuable only when it performs against the wordless physical background of the universe.
Re: Woe unto you also, ye lawyers
I'm scratching my head about this little nugget: "Many of those in 'no win, no fee' deals claim success fees of up to 100 per cent of legal costs at the expense of the person or organisation that loses. Some claims are more than 1,000 per cent of damages."
Let me get this straight: If the lawyer wins, he can get "up to 100% of the legal costs" from the defendant?
So the problem - I'm guessing - is that a lawyer might pursue a relatively minor, though meritorious, claim, expending a relatively huge amount of resources, knowing that if his client prevails he can get those disproportionate fees paid by the defendant.
Still risky business. If he loses he will seem very foolish.
Analogous to the infamous "class action" over here, where the lawyers can make out like bandits even if the claims are bullshit and/or the actual damages are minimal.
Let me get this straight: If the lawyer wins, he can get "up to 100% of the legal costs" from the defendant?
So the problem - I'm guessing - is that a lawyer might pursue a relatively minor, though meritorious, claim, expending a relatively huge amount of resources, knowing that if his client prevails he can get those disproportionate fees paid by the defendant.
Still risky business. If he loses he will seem very foolish.
Analogous to the infamous "class action" over here, where the lawyers can make out like bandits even if the claims are bullshit and/or the actual damages are minimal.