Hoffmans Barristers and Solicitors

Funding Your Case

Paying for legal action

Hoffmans will give you the highest quality of advice on the costs of legal action and finding the method of funding that is right for you.

In Australia, the general rule is that the loser of the court case pays the costs of the winner. These costs are separate from the damages or compensation awarded by the court. This means that at the outset, we have to consider the risks of the case, how it is to be paid for, and just as important, how we can ensure that at the end of the day the legal action does not prove to be expensive for the client.

Developments in the funding of cases over recent years mean that those pursuing legal action now have more choice than ever as to how their cases are paid for.

No Win : No Pay

This means that if you do not win your case you are not liable for your own legal costs. If you win you are liable for your costs but most of the costs should be paid by your opponent. It is crucial to realise that if you lose your case it is highly likely that you will be made liable for your opponent's legal costs.

Obviously we do not offer "No win: No pay" to every potential client who walks through the door, we would not be in business for long if we did. Where we believe a client has a sufficiently strong claim we will work on this basis however. It transfers at least some of the risk from the client to ourselves and reduces the stress to the client in what can be very trying circumstances.

Public Funding

Legal Aid is available for some legal action such as medical negligence, but it's seldom available for straightforward personal injury cases.

Legal Expenses Insurance

This kind of insurance policy is purchased before the accident happens and is usually attached to other insurance policies such as household, travel or motor insurance, for a small annual fee. Again, similar to Legal Aid, this policy will cover costs in the event of a case losing but it does not cover all the costs of the claim if the case is successful.

Private Funding

This is the most straightforward method of funding legal action. The lawyer undertakes the work, the client pays and if we win the case, the lawyer will try to recover costs from the defendants.

Unfortunately if we lose the case the client is also responsible for paying the costs of the defendants. This form of funding is unpopular because the client takes all of the risk of the case losing and of paying the other side's costs. They also have to find a substantial amount of money up front to fund the expenses of the claim.