The Senior Costs Judge has called on the Law Society to remind personal injury solicitors of their obligation to undertake individual risk assessments in low-value cases and not just apply a blanket 100% success fee.

Master Gordon-Saker said: “One of the unintended consequences of LASPO is that there is a growing industry in challenging solicitor and own client bills, in part because a surprising number of solicitors seem to think that the success fee payable under the CFA by the client is fixed at 25% of the damages and that there is absolutely no need to make any assessment of the risk or to apply the resulting percentage to the base costs that were actually incurred.”

The 100% success fee model is under scrutiny following a High Court ruling that said solicitors needed to undertake individual risk assessments before setting the success fee.

(Source – Legal Futures website)