header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
17 March 2023 / Richard Spector
Issue: 8017 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Costs , Legal services
printer mail-detail

The joy of damages-based agreements

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
114789
Highs, lows, successes & appreciative clients—Richard Spector shares his personal experience of damages-based agreements
  • Presents a solicitor’s personal experience of running damages-based agreement cases.
  • A low experience was where satellite litigation reduced the fee despite the case succeeding.
  • Outcomes are mainly positive, with good returns especially where cases settle early, and strengthens bonds between solicitor and client.

I have always thought of myself as one of the few solicitors who is a leading proponent of damages-based agreements (DBAs). DBAs are a form of fee agreement whereby the solicitor acts on a no-win no-fee basis and is entitled to a percentage of any damages recovered by the client.

DBAs were introduced by the Damages-Based Agreements Regulations 2013, SI 2013/609, and have not proven overly popular among solicitors so far. Solicitors have been reluctant to take on the additional risk of a DBA where, if they lose, they get nothing at all and, if they win, their fees depend on the amount of damages recovered. Damages are always strongly

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

Read All
Sponsored by
Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
NLJ this week: Family law urged to ditch adversarial instincts
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll