Wherever one goes in the world, one is sure to hear a
conversation about lawyers' fees be it that hourly rates are
too high, that timesheets are works of fiction or that the
lawyers' share of any award is unpalatable. Lawyers must find a
way to structure their fees in such a way as to be acceptable to
their clients whilst maintaining the ability of even the most
impecunious client to have access to justice.
I am going to talk about lawyers' fees from a
plaintiff's perspective and the advent of contingency and
conditional fees into a jurisdiction that has traditionally
outlawed any kind of champerty. Whilst contingency or conditional
fees may be operated on behalf of a defendant, experience tends to
find that a defendant will be a corporation or commercial entity
who are (un)happy to pay on an hourly rate basis. However, be aware
that the corporate defendant will be wanting to see value for money
and there has been much discussion in the legal marketplace over
this
