Our No Win - No Fee lawyers believe that every Australian has the right to legal representation, no matter what their financial circumstances
Our innovative No Win - No Fee arrangement has provided access to justice and legal representation to many Australians who would otherwise not be able to afford it.
The 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 is simple
Under the No Win - No Fee arrangement, if your claim is unsuccessful you may not need to pay any legal fees.
Your lawyer will take you through this arrangement in more detail in your free first initial appointment.
A range of claims are covered under No Win - No Fee
Slater and Gordon offer No Win - No Fee arrangements for many of our personal injury related legal services, including:
Motor Vehicle claims
Workplace claims
Asbestos claims
Public Liability claims
Medical Law claims
Superannuation and Insurance claims
Military Law claims
Comcare claims
Will Disputes
However in some cases, such as complex Medical Law claims, you may be required to contribute to the upfront cost of the initial investigative reports. We'll assess and discuss with you any likely additional costs before you agree to work with us.
Not every case can be run on a No Win - No Fee arrangement
We offer these arrangements on a case-by-case basis. Before we offer you a No Win - No Fee arrangement, we must be satisfied that:
- Your claim has legal merit
- Without the arrangement you could not afford to take legal action
- You're fully aware of any likely costs to prepare and run your case
- You're informed of the risk of paying the other party's costs if your claim is unsuccessful. This is a potential risk in all litigation.
The No Win - No Fee arrangement sets out our obligations
We'll set out the conditions for the arrangement in a written Legal Cost Agreement, which you'll need to sign before we start work on your claim.
The Legal Cost 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.
It also sets out your obligations
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 cooperate with us and do everything that we reasonably ask
- Accept and follow all reasonable advice that we give you
- Retain Slater and Gordon as your lawyers until your claim is finalised.