Page 15 - Bundle for MF Final

Bates no 014

CONDITIONAL FEE AGREEMENT
You should note that if Miss C makes a counterclaim against you - which tactically her lawyers
may advise her to do- you are not covered by the CFA. You should insist that the CFA covers
a counterclaim.

You should note the document, as it stands, requires you to pay if you "win". So far I have
not seen that word defined. I think the agreement should be altered so that "win" is defined
as actual receipts of monies into your account (or into the lawyer's Client Account).

I don't know what interim damages and provisional damages mean and I think you should
clarify this. Also on principle I do not think you should be paying anything up front except for
the initial £500

Again important to make sure you have effective insurance coverage for costs against you.

Schedule 1. I think a 50% uplift on KN's basic charges is excessive. It seems to me that this is a
slamdunk case and from what I can gather (searching the Internet) a success fee of 25%
would be fairer

You also have to bear in mind that the court may object to excessive charges being made by
your lawyers and only award part of them. You need to clarify what happens under such
circumstances.

I don't understand the penultimate paragraph which says that "the success fee cannot be more
than 100% of the basic charges". How can it can possibly be greater than 50% in any event.

On page 2 Schedule 1: I think you should negotiate a position where standard fees plus
success fees are no greater than x% of the paid win amount plus recovered costs. If it were
me I would also ask Sharon to let you have some spreadsheets showing the alternative
scenarios and how costs and success fees are recovered. I just get the feeling that - in all this
verbiage - you could end up with a very significant award which is gobbled up by legal fees
and costs. I think you also need to clarify the distinction between "general damages",
"damages for pecuniary loss" and "other than pecuniary loss"

Penultimate paragraph: If a dispute over fees is taken to an independent barrister for
adjudication, all costs should be paid by KN.

Schedule 2: these are the "full whack" fee rates, but not unfair

I have not read the Law Society Conditions in full. Neither do I understand whether these
conditions take priority over the appointment letter etc. I have to say. Sig, that there is so
much verbiage in this that points can be argued endlessly.

I would much rather see a single summary note that sets out precisely what the position is
together with some calculated examples. This note may not be binding but it will be a
persuasive argument if any attempt is made to hammer fees and costs.

TERMS OF BUSINESS
I've not had time to review these and even if I did I just do not understand how they fit in
with the other verbiage.