Faure, Michael; Fernhout, Fokke; Philipsen, Niels --- "No Cure, No Pay and Contingency Fees" [2010] ELECD 851; in Tuil, Mark; Visscher, Louis (eds), "New Trends in Financing Civil Litigation in Europe" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: New Trends in Financing Civil Litigation in Europe

Editor(s): Tuil, Mark; Visscher, Louis

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848446854

Section: Chapter 3

Section Title: No Cure, No Pay and Contingency Fees

Author(s): Faure, Michael; Fernhout, Fokke; Philipsen, Niels

Number of pages: 24

Extract:

3. No cure, no pay and contingency
fees
Michael Faure, Fokke Fernhout and
Niels Philipsen

1. INTRODUCTION

In many European countries lawyers are prohibited in one way or another
from charging fees on the basis of the outcome of the case. Such prohibi-
tions can be found in statutes as well as in codes of conduct of law societies
and comparable organizations. These prohibitions are mostly rooted in a
firm belief that lawyers ­ especially lawyers who represent their clients in
litigation, like solicitors and barristers ­ can only maintain their independ-
ence and can only serve justice if their private interests are not in any way
affected by the outcome of a case (Faure, Fernhout and Philipsen 2009,
p. 19).
However, recent developments show that conflicting points of view
are adopted by those responsible for policy in matters with European
implications. On the one hand, the object of attaining free competition
and free movement of services is responsible for an impulse towards
abolishing all restrictions on lawyers' fees, as was reflected in 2004 in the
Report on Competition in Professional Services issued by the European
Commission (COM 2004, 83, 9 February 2004).1 Apparently, according
to the European Commission, lawyers' fees should be liberalized and
unimpeded by state and professional regulations. On the other hand, the
Council of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Union (CCBE)
still requires its member organizations to proscribe the `quota pars litis'
agreement and has its doubts about `no win no fee' agreements (for ...