Civil Claim Overview Flashcards
thresholds for proceedings in HC
personal injury: over £50,000
non-personal injuries:
over £100,000
thresholds for proceedings in CC
personal injury: less than £50,000
non-personal injury:
less than £100,000
examples of disbursements
- court fees
- counsel’s fees
- expert’s fees
what is BTE insurance
insurance taked out before legal work (event) arises
eligibility for community legal service aid for civil claim
- claim must have merits
- mainly for children, homelessness or domestic violence
what are conditional fee agreements
no win, no fee (if lawyers win they get their normal fee plus a success fee which comes out of damages awarded)
what does conditional fee agreement not cover
disbursements eg. experts’ fees & court fees
damage based agreements
solicitor gets paid a % of damages (instead of fee plus success fee)
what are % caps for damage based agreements
25% for PI
35% for employment
50% for all other cases
ATE insurance
after the event insurance = take policy out to help client cover the costs of litigation after dispute has started
what does ATE insurance cover?
client’s own disbursement, other party’s costs & disbursements
three ways of charging clients
hourly, fixed fees and unbundled legal services
unbundled legal services
solicitor does specific task
undertaking
written/ oral statement that you or 3rd party will do/ not do something or cause something to be done
what happens to solicitors for failure to perform undertaking
serious disciplinary offence, solicitor being investigated by SRA for professional misconduct
who in a law firm can give an undertaking?
anyone in a law firm
what rules must be followed when drafting an undertaking
SMART
Specific
Measured
Agreed
Realistic
Timed
in who’s favour are ambiguities in undertakings construed in?
the recipient’s favour
