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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

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Jordan Wallace

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Jordan Wallace

Thomson Hayton Winkley strengthens family law team

Ward Hadaway—Barnaby Rosenthall

Ward Hadaway—Barnaby Rosenthall

Construction lawyer returns to Ward Hadaway in Teesside role

Bird & Bird—Shahin Baghaei

Bird & Bird—Shahin Baghaei

Bird Bird hires leading legal transformation expert

NEWS
Legal aid deserts leave almost one in four without adequate access to justice
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned solicitors and law firms that using artificial intelligence does not alter their professional obligations, amid concerns over inaccurate legal material and client confidentiality
From forgotten interest claims to case-management appeals, a string of procedural developments offers useful—and occasionally cautionary—lessons for practitioners

Jonathan Fisher KC highlights that it now accounts for around 40% of criminal offences, with roughly 70% involving technology, and argues that the UK cannot simply prosecute its way out of the problem. Detection, investigation and prosecution all require improvement, while different fraud types demand tailored responses.

How forcefully can a litigant criticise a public authority before robust advocacy crosses the line into unreasonable conduct? 
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