HL Deb 25 July 1994 vol 557 cc62-3WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, before introducing the Conditional Fee Order and Regulations, they will have regard to the fact that in the United States the maximum proportion of damages which lawyers can lawfully obtain under contingency fee schemes (whether at Federal or State level) is about 40 per cent. of the total damages.

The Lord Chancellor

The conditional fee scheme outlined in the draft order and regulations differs from the contingency fee schemes in the United States as the uplift is based upon the lawyer's fees and relates only to the work done, and is not, as with the American system, based on a percentage of damages awarded to the client. I am however considering adding to the regulations a provision requiring all conditional fee arrangements to state whether or not there is to be a limit on the amount of any uplift by reference to the damages awarded.