header-logo header-logo

Defendants beware!

28 May 2009 / Nichola Evans
Issue: 7371 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Commercial
printer mail-detail

CFAs are on the rise in commercial litigation, says Nichola Evans

* * * * * *

Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs) were first introduced in the 1990s and the original objective was allow greater access to justice for those who either did not qualify for legal aid or were not wealthy enough to pursue litigation through the courts. Over the years the risk involved in litigation has passed to solicitors from clients and the Legal Services Commission.

Boom-time

The initial boom in the use of CFAs and after the event (ATE) insurance was in the personal injury sphere. Despite the fact that it was originally anticipated that they would be used in relation to other types of claims, CFAs backed by ATE insurance did not take off in commercial claims.

From 1 November 2005 a new regime came into place with the idea that unnecessary regulation would be taken away and courts should not be imposing draconian sanctions against solicitors where only a technical breach of the rules occurred. Cases decided since the new

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

Blake Morgan managing partner appointed chair of CBI South-East Council

Birketts—Phillippa O’Neill

Birketts—Phillippa O’Neill

Commercial dispute resolution team welcomes partner in Cambridge

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Firm strengthens international funds capability with senior hire

NEWS
The proposed £11bn redress scheme following the Supreme Court’s motor finance rulings is analysed in this week’s NLJ by Fred Philpott of Gough Square Chambers
In this week's issue, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist and former district judge, surveys another eclectic fortnight in procedure. With humour and humanity, he reminds readers that beneath the procedural dust, the law still changes lives
Generative AI isn’t the villain of the courtroom—it’s the misunderstanding of it that’s dangerous, argues Dr Alan Ma of Birmingham City University and the Birmingham Law Society in this week's NLJ
James Naylor of Naylor Solicitors dissects the government’s plan to outlaw upward-only rent review (UORR) clauses in new commercial leases under Schedule 31 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, in this week's NLJ. The reform, he explains, marks a seismic shift in landlord-tenant power dynamics: rents will no longer rise inexorably, and tenants gain statutory caps and procedural rights
Writing in NLJ this week, James Harrison and Jenna Coad of Penningtons Manches Cooper chart the Privy Council’s demolition of the long-standing ‘shareholder rule’ in Jardine Strategic v Oasis Investments
back-to-top-scroll