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17 March 2023
Issue: 8017 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Costs , Damages , Legal services
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NLJ this week: Singing the praises of DBAs

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Damages-based agreements (DBAs) are the seldom-used option when it comes to ‘no win no fee’ cases, but is their lack of popularity justified? In this week’s NLJ, solicitor and DBA-proponent Richard Spector, partner at Spector Constant and Williams shares his personal experience of running DBA cases.

Spector shares some insights and tips from his experience of running DBAs.

While there have been some negatives, he reveals that his experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. What’s more, there are some definite advantages of DBAs over conditional fee agreements, for example, he writes, ‘the DBA is genuinely like a joint venture between solicitor and client.

‘If the client is successful, then so is the solicitor. Similarly, if the client fails to win or achieve a good recovery, then the solicitor gets paid nothing or very little. The solicitor and client are in it together.’ 

Read more of his success stories here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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