How to Choose a No Win No Fee Solicitor
Check the firm is authorised on the SRA register, then compare the terms that actually decide what you keep — what the success fee is calculated on, who pays disbursements if you lose, and what happens if you end the agreement. Two firms quoting the same headline percentage can leave you with very different amounts.
Read this first. This page is published by Edward & Amaury Solicitors, a firm of solicitors that itself takes personal injury and mis-selling work funded by conditional fee agreements. We therefore have an obvious interest in this subject.
Because of that, this guide deliberately names no firms and recommends none — including our own. It explains how to check and compare, and points only to the regulator and professional-body directories, which pay us nothing. Use them to find and verify a firm yourself.
Step 1 — Verify the firm is regulated
Direct Answer: Search the firm on the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s public register. It confirms whether the firm is authorised, what it may do, and whether any regulatory decisions have been published against it. A firm that is not on the register is not a regulated solicitors’ practice, whatever its website says.
- SRA register — the authoritative check
- Law Society — Find a Solicitor (England & Wales) — search by claim type and location
If your claim arises in Scotland or Northern Ireland, use the Law Society of Scotland or the Law Society of Northern Ireland instead — those are separate legal systems with their own rules. See no win no fee in Scotland.
Step 2 — Compare the terms that decide what you keep
“No win no fee” describes a category, not a fixed product. These are the terms that vary, in rough order of how much they affect your net recovery:
| Term | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Deduction from damages | What percentage, and calculated on which damages? The cap is 25% of specified categories, but firms may charge less. |
| Disbursements on a loss | If the claim fails, who pays the medical reports and court fees already incurred? This varies most between firms. |
| ATE insurance | Is a policy required, who pays the premium, and is it deferred and self-insuring so it is only payable on success? |
| Termination | What happens if you end the agreement, or if they do? Can you be charged? |
| Rejecting an offer | What happens if you turn down an offer they advise you to accept? See Part 36 risk. |
| Who runs the file | Will a solicitor handle it, or a paralegal under supervision? Neither is wrong, but you should know. |
Step 3 — Watch for these
- “You’ll definitely win”. Nobody can say that. A firm confident enough to fund your case will still describe the risks.
- Pressure to sign immediately. Limitation periods are real, but they are usually years away, not hours. You are entitled to read the agreement.
- Unsolicited approaches. Cold calls and texts about accidents you did not report are a longstanding problem in this sector.
- Vagueness about disbursements. If a firm will not answer plainly who pays them on a loss, that is the answer.
- No written agreement. A CFA must be in writing. Do not proceed on a conversation.
If something goes wrong
Complain to the firm first — every regulated firm must have a complaints procedure and must tell you how to use it. If you are not satisfied with the response, or you get none within eight weeks, you can take it to the Legal Ombudsman. Concerns about a firm’s conduct, as opposed to its service, go to the SRA.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where this applies: This page covers England and Wales. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different.
Sources for this page
Every rule stated above is based on the primary sources below. Each link goes to the legislation, court rule or regulator itself so you can check it. Last verified 5 August 2026.
- SRA Standards and Regulations
Conduct rules for solicitors in England and Wales, including costs transparency.
- Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, arts. 4–5 · in force from 1 April 2013
Art. 4 caps the success fee at 100% of base costs. Art. 5 caps what may be taken from damages in personal injury at 25% of PSLA plus past pecuniary loss, net of CRU, at first instance.
- Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s.58 (conditional fee agreements)
The provision that makes CFAs lawful and enforceable. CFAs derive from this section, not from LASPO.
- Civil Procedure Rules, Part 44 (incl. rr.44.13–44.17, QOCS)
Qualified one-way costs shifting and its exceptions. Rule 44.14 was amended with effect from 6 April 2023.
- Legal Ombudsman — complaints about legal fees
Who wrote and checked this page
- Written and published by
- Edward & Amaury Solicitors (Edward & Amaury Ltd, company no. 12195443), regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under no. 800525.
- Legal review
- Checked for England & Wales by Edward & Amaury Solicitors — Solicitors regulated by the SRA (no. 800525) (verify on the regulator’s register).Review is recorded against the firm. The individual reviewer is not named on this page.
- Review dates
- Last reviewed 5 August 2026. Next review due 5 February 2027.
Fee rules change. California’s medical malpractice fee limits changed on 1 January 2023, and the QOCS rules in England and Wales changed on 6 April 2023. If you spot something out of date, tell us — we publish corrections.