Case studies

General principles

  • If a lawyer intends to charge a success fee that is calculated based on risk, the reasoning behind the calculation should be provided to the consumer. If it isn’t, we might decide they haven’t had the information they need about how their costs are run up.  

  • If a lawyer intends to charge a success fee that isn’t based on risk, or which includes other elements alongside risk, this needs to be clearly explained to the consumer clearly at the outset, and the overall costs must be reasonable.  

Consumer complains about level of success fee – we agree middle ground 


Mr E complained that he’d been charged an unfairly high success fee by his previous solicitors. The fee had been 100% of base costs, but he’d since been told by another law firm that a percentage nearer 20% would have been more appropriate. He felt he was several thousand pounds out of pocket and eventually referred a complaint to us. We asked the solicitors how they had decided on their 100% uplift. They showed us what they told Mr E at the outset, which was that they took into account all the facts of his case, reflecting the risk of defeat and the risk of recovery of damages. 

Mr E’s case followed his involvement in a car accident. His car had been hit from behind at traffic lights in a well-lit area, with the defendant being insured. The argument of 100% based on risk seemed hard to defend in this context. However, the solicitor argued that Mr E’s significant injury required medical assessment and treatment, and there was a concern about his assessment of his lost earnings. 

In our view, the claim was not without risk – but while the firm’s 100% fee wasn’t appropriate, Mr E’s proposal of 20% was also unrealistic. 

After we’d explained our thoughts to both parties, they agreed a remedy that took into account both a correction to the success fee (a refund of fees) and compensation for the shock of Mr E learning that he’d been overcharged. 

This case was subject to our case fee because it was settled only after we’d accepted it for an investigation, and the remedy was higher than the one the solicitors had made as part of their own complaints process (which in this case had been nothing).

Consumer complains about success fee – we decide she had made informed choice


Miss F complained that she’d been charged an unfairly high success fee by her previous solicitors. The fee had been 100% of base costs, but she’d since been told by another law firm that a percentage nearer 20% would have been more appropriate. She felt she was several thousand pounds out of pocket and eventually referred a complaint to us.

We asked the solicitors how they decided on their 100% uplift. They sent us their client care information, which explained they charge 100% in all cases, rather than using risk as a basis for calculation. The letter said that other solicitors might have lower rates, and consumers were free to shop around, but that they would provide a “high quality service, using a team with over 200 years of experience between them in dealing with accident claims”. Miss F had signed and returned the Conditional Fee Agreement. 

Miss F had been a passenger in a car hit in an accident, which had been attended by the police. Miss F had had a short amount of time off work with minor injuries, but with an excellent prognosis for recovery. The defendant driver of the other car had admitted fault and was insured. 

If the fees had been risk-based, we didn’t think this could have been a 100% uplift situation. However, they weren’t based on risk. Given what we’d seen, we concluded that the solicitors had made the details of the agreement clear, and Miss F had made an informed decision to proceed on that basis.