Access to Justice : A Critical Analysis of Recoverable Conditional Fees and No Win No Fee Funding

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. This book addresses an experiment in funding money damage claims in England from 2000 to 2013. The model - recoverable conditional fees - was unique and has remained so. It covers the development, amendment and effective abolition of the model, as well as the process of policy development and the motivation and objectives of the policy makers. Access to Justice addresses a remarkable experiment in the funding of money damage claims - largely personal injury claims - which began in 2000 and which the Government effectively abolished in 2013. The model - recoverable conditional fees - adopted by the incoming New Labour administration was unique and, for reasons that the book explains, it has remained so. This book is based on a review of published material, the author's own view as a 'participant' in the process and anonymised semi structured interviews with other participants, from Government; claimant and defendant lawyers and litigation insurers. It covers the development, subsequent amendment and effective abolition of the model. It examines the process of policy development, the motivation and objectives of the policy makers and the reactions of the parties attempting to grapple with the new system. It asks whether a development process incorporating a range of models addressing the evidence base might have produced a better result: a workable policy based on the core of Government objectives or, possibly, an entirely different model Front Matter....Pages i-vi Introduction....Pages 1-1 The Development of Funding....Pages 2-5 The Theoretical Context....Pages 6-11 The Access to Justice Movement....Pages 12-25 Legal Aid, Conditional Fees and Labour....Pages 26-39 The Policy Process: Replacing Legal Aid by Recoverability....Pages 40-63 Where Did the Recoverability Policy Come From?....Pages 64-78 Economic and Psychological Insights into the Process of Claiming and Agreeing Damages and Costs....Pages 79-92 The Cost War and Its Casualties: Frogs and Temperature....Pages 93-105 Could It Have Been Different? An Alternative Evidence-Based Approach....Pages 106-121 A Suggested Approach....Pages 122-144 The Future of Funding: Jackson....Pages 145-150 Conclusion: Evidence-Based Policy and Civil Justice Reform....Pages 151-155 Back Matter....Pages 156-190 Cover; Contents; Acknowledgements; 1 Introduction; 2 The Development of Funding; 3 The Theoretical Context; 4 The Access to Justice Movement; 5 Legal Aid, Conditional Fees and Labour; 6 The Policy Process: Replacing Legal Aid by Recoverability; 7 Where Did the Recoverability Policy Come From?; 8 Economic and Psychological Insights into the Process of Claiming and Agreeing Damages and Costs; 9 The Cost War and Its Casualties: Frogs and Temperature; 10 Could It Have Been Different? An Alternative Evidence-Based Approach; 11 A Suggested Approach; 12 The Future of Funding: Jackson 13 Conclusion: Evidence-Based Policy and Civil Justice ReformNotes; Index