DON'T PANIC
These immortal words are inscribed in large friendly letters on
the cover of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy but DON'T
PANIC could as well be said to a prospective party when the
question 'how do I pay for all of this?' rears its
ugly head.
Litigation costs are often thought of as a hurdle to enforcing
rights but they need not be. Indeed, today, the range of
possibilities in this area to cover legal expenses, help the client
with their own costs and for protection in the event of adverse
costs has never been greater.
We still have the traditional 'pay as you go' model of
funding. As lawyers we like this of course because it means we get
certainty of payment win or lose. It is however an inescapable fact
that the financial strain of high costs – especially in cases
that may run to trial or to a late stage mediation, make litigation
often prohibitively expensive save for the most well-heeled of
clients. There are however alternatives.
