MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
News Release (068/08) issued by The Government News Network on 25
June 2008
A research based
review of no win no fee arrangements in England and Wales was
announced today.
The study, by senior academics, will look at whether no win no
fee arrangements are still operating in the best interests of
giving people access to justice.
Justice Minister Bridget Prentice said:
"No win no fee arrangements are vital in helping to give the
public a voice in courts. However, we are aware of growing
concerns that they may not always be operating in the interests of
access to justice.
"We feel that now is the appropriate time for a
comprehensive, objective and evidence based examination of the
operation of no win no fee arrangements in relation to personal
injury, employment and defamation/cases."
Professor Moorhead said:
"The controversies generated around no win, no fee
agreements cry out for a balanced, evidence-based approach. We aim
to provide that approach through generating evidence that respects
and reflects all sides of the debate."
Professors Richard Moorhead, Paul Fenn and Neil Rickman, will
consider how best to:
* identify representative samples of claims data in personal
injury, employment and defamation/privacy cases;
* examine the nature of funding arrangements in these cases and
the outcome;
* identify random samples of clients and legal advisers that may
help provide more detailed data about the understanding of quality
and change within the legal services sector;
* analyse the unmet legal needs in the areas of personal injury,
employment and defamation/privacy.
The professors are expected to report to ministers in the autumn.
The report will help determine what specific aspects ought to be
pursued in more detail and the feasibility of doing so.
Notes for Editors
1. Professor Richard Moorhead is Deputy Head of Cardiff School of
Law. His main research interests are legal aid, the courts, the
legal profession, regulation of professions and legal systems and
socio-legal research methods. He has conducted a number of
evaluations of legal aid programmes as well as empirical research
into the courts and the legal profession. He teaches an
undergraduate course on lawyers: practice and ethics and an LLM
course on commercial legal practice. As well as being Deputy Head
of School, he is Director of Research. He is also a member of the
Civil Justice Council.
2. Professor Paul Fenn teaches at Nottingham University Business
School. His background is in applied microeconomics, particularly
in relation to the interaction between law, health, and insurance.
He has written or edited four books and numerous articles in
peer-reviewed journals on the general themes of liability
insurance, medical negligence, and the economics of the legal
services market. He has coordinated research projects on these
issues for the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice.
He has recently completed a research project funded by The
Economic and Social Research Council's Public Services
Quality programme on "Liability, Risk-pooling and Health Care Quality".
3. Professor Neil Rickman is the Head of the Economics Department
at the University of Surrey and a member of RAND Europe. His
research interests are in applied microeconomics, with particular
reference to legal and health services. In these areas, he has
published on a variety of topics including legal aid reform,
contingent fees for legal services, legal expenses insurance,
litigation and medical negligence. He has undertaken research for
the Ministry of Justice, the Civil Justice Council, the Legal
Services Commission and the Department of Health.
http://www.justice.gov.uk
ENDS