§ Mr. John Morrisasked the Attorney-General whether he will introduce legislation to prohibit contracts between potential litigants and claims assessors or any other litigation adviser involving contingency payments as being against the public interest.
The Attorney-GeneralNo. The Criminal Law Act 1967 abolished criminal and civil liability for maintenance and champerty, but expressly preserved in section 14(2) the rules of law in England and Wales as to the cases in which a contract is to be treated as contrary to public policy or otherwise illegal. The rules of professional conduct of both barristers' and solicitors' professions forbid agreements for contingency fees in the case of potential plaintiffs, and to impose fresh sanctions on the practices in question by legislation would in present circumstances in my view be over-reactive.