We will act on a ‘no win no fee’ basis for all compensation matters.
You will never need to pay any money upfront.
We will never charge you costs that leave you out of pocket.
Our cost will always be fair, reasonable, and proportionate.
We will only send a bill if your claim is successful.
Sometimes we will need to spend money on your case to help make sure you maximise your compensation.
These payments are called disbursements, and include costs of medical reports, expert reports, barrister’s fees, filing fees etc. These are necessary to make or enhance your claim.
Disbursements will be charged on top of any fees. At Schofield King Lawyers we have flexible options for funding these disbursements. In terms of smaller disbursements, the firm will normally be in a position to meet those as they come. For some disbursements, which may exceed $1000.00, we normally obtain funding and we are able to facilitate that on a ‘no win no fee’ basis. You will never need to pay any money upfront for the running of your claim.
Depending on the kind of litigation, generally there is a rule that the unsuccessful party must pay the successful party’s legal costs.
This means that if your matter runs in court or a tribunal and you win, then the other side must pay a portion of your costs. Conversely, if you lose you may have to pay the other side’s costs.
When a matter is settled out of court, then the settlement figure will often include the compensation value and an amount to cover some of the costs incurred. This figure will often be somewhere between 50% to 75% of the final costs that you will pay, with the remainder coming directly out of your compensation settlement.
There are some courts/tribunals that are ‘non costs jurisdictions’ which means that generally, costs are not payable by the unsuccessful party. For example, the Fair Work Commission or the Anti-Discrimination Board. This means that all costs must come directly out of any settlement.
In any case we will advise you of the approximate value of any costs that will come out, so that you are always aware of how much will be left in your hand after costs come out.
We are open and transparent about our costs.
Schedule a free consultation with a senior lawyer, or contact any of our offices directly and we will be happy to assist you.
