header-logo header-logo

Risk versus reward

12 July 2018 / Francis Kendall
Issue: 7801 / Categories: Features , Fees , Personal injury
printer mail-detail
845452240_0

What has Herbert taught us about setting success fees & implied or informed consent? Francis Kendall explains

  • The judgment in Herbert v HH Law confirms that risk assessments are necessary when establishing the success fee.
  • Clients’ approval of the type or amount of costs incurred requires their informed consent.

A recent High Court ruling has shown that solicitors still need to undertake individual risk assessments before setting the success fee in minor road traffic accident cases (RTA), and also obtain their clients’ ‘informed consent’ to the figure.

Market norm

In Herbert v HH Law Ltd [2018] EWHC 580 (QB), [2018] All ER (D) 168 (Mar), claimant Nicky Herbert was advised by her solicitors, Hampson Hughes (HH), to accept an offer of £3,400 for a rear-end shunt by a bus, of which £829 would be deducted as the firm’s success fee (25% of damages) and £349 for after-the-event (ATE) insurance. She accepted the offer but subsequently instructed JG Solicitors, which has been much in the news of late for its work challenging deductions from

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

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll