Editing Contingent fee (section)

===United Kingdom===
In the [[English rule (legal term)|English legal system]], a contingent fee is generally referred to as a '''conditional fee agreement''' (CFA) or, informally by the public and press, as '''"no win no fee"'''. The usual form of this agreement is that the [[solicitor]] will take a law case on the understanding that if lost, no payment is made. In the alternative, the client may enter into a fee contract with the lawyer based upon hourly billing with an additional [[success fee]] to be paid in the event of a successful outcome to the litigation. In England, the success fee must be a percentage, no greater than 100% of the contractual hourly fee.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rothwell|first1=Rachel|title=Success fees: a word of warning|url=https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/comment-and-opinion/success-fees-a-word-of-warning/5050634.article|website=The Law Society Gazette|access-date=26 September 2017|date=25 August 2015}}</ref> This contrasts with the contingency fee in the US, which gives the successful attorney a percentage of the damages recovered by the attorney's client.

In 19th century [[English law]], conditional fees were controversial, especially in the [[Swynfen will case]], as they were held to offend ancient prohibitions against [[champerty and maintenance]]. However, conditional fees were introduced by the [[Courts and Legal Services Act 1990]] (section 58),<ref>{{Cite legislation UK|type=act|year=1990|chapter=41|Act=Courts and Legal Services Act 1990}}</ref> and were recognized by statute in 1995.

Initially, the success fee was not recoverable from the losing party, but on 1 April 2000, section 27 of the [[Access to Justice Act 1999]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1999/19990022.htm |title=Access to Justice Act 1999 |publisher=Opsi.gov.uk |date=2011-10-28 |access-date=2011-11-08}}</ref> amended the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 to allow recovery of success fees from the losing party. The regulations that accompanied this change in the law (the Conditional Fee Agreements Regulations 2000) were far from clear, and the result was that a great deal of satellite litigation took place. On 1 November 2005, these regulations were revoked, and now it is much easier to enter into conditional fee agreements than before. The chances of having a case accepted on conditional fee are greatly increased if the case is investigated by a legally qualified professional.

On 29 March 2011, Justice Secretary [[Kenneth Clarke]] announced plans to reform contingent fee arrangements, as part of reforms to the justice system prompted by a review of civil litigation costs carried out by Lord Justice Jackson.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12890256 |title= 'No-win, no-fee' changes announced by Ken Clarke |publisher=BBC News |date=2011-03-29 |access-date=2011-11-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130201949/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12890256 |archive-date= 2011-11-30}}</ref> The changes were prompted by large rises in litigation costs and the proliferation of [[ambulance chasing]] advertisements and claim farmers.<ref name="grauniad">{{cite news|last=White |first=Michael |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2011/mar/29/curb-no-win-no-fee-step-right-direction |title=Curb on 'no win, no fee' activity is a step in the right direction |publisher=Guardian |date= 2011-03-29|access-date=2011-11-08 |location=London}}</ref> Following the introduction of contingent fees, the [[National Health Service]] had to pay out hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation for malpractice claims.<ref name="grauniad"/>

Fee reforms were implemented in the [[Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012]].<ref name="telegraph-2013-03-29">{{cite news|last1=Simon|first1=Emma|title=End of 'no win, no fee' lawsuits|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/money-saving-tips/9959646/End-of-no-win-no-fee-lawsuits.html|access-date=26 September 2017|publisher=The Telegraph|date=29 March 2013 |url-access=registration |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927115640/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/money-saving-tips/9959646/End-of-no-win-no-fee-lawsuits.html |archive-date= 2016-09-27}}</ref> Under the new arrangements, claimants with contingent fee agreements still do not pay upfront fees or have to cover their lawyers' costs if the case is lost.<ref name="telegraph-2013-03-29" /> If they win then they pay a "success fee" that is capped at 25% of the awarded damages.<ref name="telegraph-2013-03-29" />

The status of contingent fees is different in [[Scotland]], where it is lawful to agree that the lawyer gets paid only if the case is won (the ''speculative action''). It is not lawful to fix a percentage of the client's winnings as the amount of the fee, but has been legal since 1990 for the lawyer and client to agree to an initial fee with a percentage ''increase'' in the lawyer's fee in case of success in the action.<ref>Law Reform ((Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 s. 36).</ref>