No Win - No Fee ™

Slater & Gordon's innovative No Win - No Fee ™ arrangement is designed with exactly that purpose in mind. Introduced to Victorians in 1994, No Win - No Fee™ was created in direct response to growing community concern that access to legal justice was beyond the reach of many and increasingly restricted to those with the financial resources to pay for it.

No Win - No Fee ™ has meant that many Australians whose financial situation would otherwise deny them legal representation are now able to access the legal system.

How does No Win - No Fee ™ work?

Under the No Win - No Fee ™ arrangement, if your claim is unsuccessful you may not need to pay any legal fees. If your claim is successful, however, even with the No Win - No Fee ™ arrangement you may be charged legal fees which may include a 'success fee'.

A success fee is typically a percentage added to the final costs. For example, under Victorian law if your claim is successful an increase in the costs of up to 25% is permitted as a success fee. This 'uplift' is not calculated as a percentage of your settlement money.

Is No Win - No Fee ™ available in all cases?

Slater & Gordon offer No Win - No Fee ™ arrangements for all areas of personal injury law including asbestos-related diseases, workers compensation, public liability, transport accident injuries and medical negligence claims.

However in some cases, such as complex medical negligence claims, with the No Win - No Fee ™ you may be required to contribute to the upfront cost of the initial investigative reports. We will assess and discuss with you any likely additional costs before you agree to be our client.

The No Win - No Fee ™ arrangement is generally not available in non-personal injury cases such as family and employment law or commercial litigation.

Can anyone ask for No Win - No Fee ™? 

We offer No Win - No Fee ™ arrangements on a case-by-case basis. Before we will accept your case on a No Win - No Fee ™ basis we must be satisfied that:

• Your claim has legal merit
• Without the No Win - No Fee ™ arrangement you could not afford to take legal action
• You are fully aware of any likely costs to prepare and run your case
• You are informed of the risk of paying the other party's costs if your claim is unsuccessful. This is a potential risk in all litigation and is further explained in the Legal Costs section of this website.

What are Slater & Gordon's obligations in a No Win - No Fee ™ arrangement?

We will set out the conditions for the No Win - No Fee ™ arrangement in a written Fee & Retainer Agreement which you will need to sign before we start work on your claim as No Win - No Fee ™.

The Fee & Retainer Agreement also sets out our obligations to you, the client, which in general terms are to:

• Work on your claim in a prompt, efficient and professional manner
• Regularly inform you of the progress of your claim
• Consult you before any special or unusual expense is incurred
• Advise you if and when our estimate of your legal costs changes substantially.

What are my obligations in a No Win - No Fee ™ arrangement?

Under a No Win - No Fee ™ arrangement we ask that you, in general:

• Tell us openly and honestly everything that is relevant to your claim and let us know of any material change in your circumstances that might impact on your claim
• Fully co-operate with us and do everything that we reasonably ask
• Accept and follow all reasonable advice that we give you. But, if there is a dispute about whether our advice is reasonable, we both agree to accept the opinion of an independent barrister agreed between us, or, if we cannot agree, one nominated by the law institute or society in your state
• Retain No Win - No Fee ™ lawyers Slater & Gordon as your lawyers until your claim is finalised.

Talk to us

If you would like to discuss No Win - No Fee ™ in relation to your case, please contact us either by email or by calling direct on 1800 555 777.