A lawyer has defended the use of ‘no win, no fee’ terminology, despite some unregulated companies using it as a lead generation tactic.
Legal regulators are reportedly considering banning the term over fears that people are often unaware of the fees they are liable to pay through some social media ‘claim-farmers’.
Rick Law, housing disrepair lawyer and managing director of Liberay Legal, said ‘no-win, no-fee arrangements have been a lifeline’ after government reforms in 2012 reduced access to legal aid for those on lower incomes.
He said: “Banning use of the term is not the answer to growing problems that we’re seeing all too often, where clients are falling victim to pushy sales tactics, group claims and a lack of transparency about fees.
“The industry as a whole needs stricter regulation not only to protect the many qualified legal professionals delivering ethical, transparent no-win, no-fee arrangements to those who need it most, but for the people for whom these arrangements can be the difference between ensuring their family has a safe and secure home and being forced to live somewhere that poses a real risk to their health and safety.”
Law has helped hundreds of social housing tenants seek action and compensation from rogue landlords.
He added: “The actions of often unregulated firms (also known as ‘claim farmers’) have tarnished a term that was put in place to help those on lower incomes seek the justice they deserve.
“Reforms to the UK’s legal aid system in 2012 significantly reduced access to free legal advice or support for issues like family, employment, housing and debt problems. Before these cuts, legal aid, which is designed to cover the costs of legal advice, mediation and representation for those on lower incomes, was often the only legal route available to those on lower incomes.
“Without this support, no-win, no-fee arrangements have been a lifeline, as we have seen with countless clients across the UK that we have supported to seek justice for dangerous, substandard living conditions as a result of inaction by their landlords.
“While I agree that the unscrupulous tactics of some unregulated firms, using the no-win, no-fee banner purely as a sales tool to generate leads through channels like social media have no place in the UK legal system, not all no-win, no-fee legal firms are created equal.”
