How personal injury legal fees work: mandates, contingency and costs
What you should expect to see in writing before any work starts, how 'no win, no fee' arrangements are regulated, and the questions worth asking any firm about money.
Fear about legal costs keeps injured people from getting advice — which is exactly the wrong outcome, because the first conversation is where honest firms tell you whether a claim is worth pursuing at all. Here is how fees in personal injury matters are meant to work, so you know what to expect and what to ask.
Everything in writing, before work starts
A proper engagement begins with a written mandate: what the firm is instructed to do, how fees are calculated, what disbursements (expert reports, medico-legal assessments, court fees) may arise, and how settlement money flows. If the money terms are not clear to you, ask until they are — a good firm welcomes the question.
Contingency ('no win, no fee') arrangements
South African law permits regulated contingency arrangements, under which the firm's fee depends on the outcome. The law caps these fees and prescribes formalities — a compliant written agreement is not optional. Two things to understand before signing:
- The cap and the calculation: how the fee is computed if the matter succeeds, and what the legal maximum is.
- Disbursements are separate: expert and court costs are usually distinct from the fee, and you should know who carries them, and when, in both outcomes.
Deductions from settlements
Where an outcome is achieved, the amount a client receives is the settlement less agreed fees, disbursements and any other lawful deductions — which is why published settlement figures (including on this website) are gross amounts and say so. A firm should be able to account for every deduction in writing.
Questions worth asking any firm
- Will I receive the fee agreement in writing before work begins?
- What happens to costs if the matter does not succeed?
- How are experts paid, and are their costs recoverable?
- How will I be kept informed of costs as the matter progresses?
General information about how fees are commonly structured — not a quotation or an offer of terms. The firm's actual fee terms for a matter are agreed in writing at engagement.
About this article. General legal information for South Africa, current at the last review date shown above. It is not legal advice, it may not reflect changes in the law since review, and reading it creates no attorney-client relationship. For advice on your own situation, see Personal injuries or contact the firm.