The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has published...
The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has published a paper with proposals to make conditional fee agreements (CFAs) simpler.
The paper, “Making simple CFAs a reality”, seeks to provide a better deal for consumers, solicitors and defendants, said Civil Justice Minister David Lammy
The DCA paper sets out proposals to make conditional fee agreements, usually known as no-win, no-fee, simpler and more transparent.
Lammy said: “No-win, no-fee is a powerful tool for righting wrongs, but only if it is used appropriately and is not abused
“If the arrangements are opaque, the customer may be disadvantaged. A simple concept should translate into a simple agreement.”
As well as setting out proposals to reform the operation of conditional fee agreements, the paper publishes a set of draft regulations for consultation.
The proposals are:
· To remove the client care and costs information requirements from the current regulations so that the primary means for regulating solicitors conduct and client care for CFAs is through the Law Society's practice rules and supporting guidance.
· To revoke the CFA regulations introduced in 2000 and replace them with one set of regulations.
· To introduce the new CFA regulations by the end of 2004, and any consequential changes needed to the Civil Procedure Rules.
· To continue to work with and support the Law Society in its development of a revised costs information guide and new model CFA agreements to support the main types of CFA to be used under the proposed simplified regime.
