If you live in Gore Hill and you've seen “no win, no fee” in a lawyer's advertising, it helps to know what the phrase generally means before you rely on it. In most cases it refers to an arrangement where you pay the lawyer's professional fees only if the claim succeeds. The details differ between lawyers, and some costs may still be payable either way. This page explains what to ask, and our claim check is free.
Lower North Shore & Ryde · No win, no fee explained
Looking for a no win, no fee lawyer in Gore Hill?
Many motor accident lawyers offer costs terms like this. The details differ, so compare them before you sign.
Postcode: 2065
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Legal costs and where you live: Gore Hill
Around Chatswood and Ryde, remember that legal costs in CTP claims are regulated, with maximum amounts set by the Motor Accident Injuries Regulation. Ask how a lawyer's no win, no fee terms sit within those limits. Legal costs in NSW CTP claims are regulated the same way across the state, whether you're under Willoughby City Council or anywhere else. What differs between lawyers is how their own costs terms are written, so compare those. From Gore Hill, the Sydney CBD is roughly 5 km away. That doesn't limit whose costs terms you can compare. Written terms can be emailed, lawyers can explain them by phone or video, and our claim check is by phone and online.
- Region
- Lower North Shore & Ryde
- Postcode
- 2065
- Local government area
- Willoughby City Council
- From the Sydney CBD
- ~5 km
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Before comparing costs terms, find out whether you need a lawyer. Our free, no-obligation claim check works by phone and online.
The phrase, explained plainly
“No win, no fee” generally describes a costs arrangement where the lawyer's professional fees are only payable if the claim succeeds. The agreement that sets this out is often called a conditional costs agreement, because payment depends on a condition: success. Beyond that basic idea, the details vary between lawyers, which is why the written terms matter more than the phrase itself.
Regulated costs and what they mean for you
A NSW CTP claim has its own costs rules, and they apply whatever a lawyer's arrangement is called. Maximum legal costs are set by the Motor Accident Injuries Regulation and indexed each year. In a statutory benefits claim, costs are recoverable only where the Regulation or the Personal Injury Commission allows, and for some disputes they can't be recovered at all. A no win, no fee arrangement has to fit around those rules.
If your questions are about statutory benefits and your accident was on or after 1 December 2017, the free CTP Legal Advisory Service may answer them without any costs arrangement. You can ask CTP Assist (1300 656 919) to put you through to it. Its limits matter: no damages claims, no older-scheme claims, and nothing that's already in internal review or before the Commission. Beyond those limits, the costs questions on this page come into play.
Read next:What does a CTP lawyer cost?
Questions to ask before you sign a costs agreement
You don't need to be an expert to read a costs agreement well. You need the right questions. Here are the ones that tend to matter most in a motor accident claim.
- What happens to costs if I end the agreement before the claim finishes?
- Will you tell me in writing if that estimate changes?
- If the claim doesn't succeed, what would I have to pay, if anything?
- How do the CTP costs rules in the Regulation limit what you can charge?
- Can I take the agreement away and read it before signing?
- What counts as the claim succeeding under this agreement?
General information, not legal advice. Costs terms differ between lawyers, and legal costs in CTP claims are regulated. Rely on the written terms you're given.
What you might still pay
The lawyer's professional fees are one thing. Disbursements are another. These are costs paid to others as the claim goes on, such as fees for expert reports or for obtaining records, and they can add up in a claim that needs expert evidence. Ask whether you may be asked to pay them if the claim doesn't succeed, and whether you'd pay as you go or at the end.
- Fees for expert reports
- The cost of any expert opinion the lawyer arranges
- Courier, copying and similar office costs
The costs terms worth having in writing
Ask the lawyer to confirm in writing how their fees would be calculated if the claim succeeds, and what, if anything, you'd owe if it doesn't. Ask the same about disbursements, and about costs if you end the agreement early. Written answers let you compare lawyers fairly and avoid surprises at the end of the claim.
Keep a copy
Store the written terms with the rest of your claim documents. Checking a later bill against what you signed is much easier when the agreement is to hand.
How to compare costs arrangements fairly
Line the written terms up side by side. Where one lawyer's terms are specific and another's are vague, ask the second to be specific too. If an answer changes between a phone call and the written terms, go by what's written and ask why. It's reasonable to take a few days to compare before you commit.
Same label, different terms
Two arrangements can both be called no win, no fee and still differ on disbursements, on what counts as success and on what comes out at the end. Compare the terms, not the label.
Our claim check is free
Here's the only promise we make about cost: our claim check is free, and there's no obligation. We look at where your claim is up to and tell you what help it needs. Sometimes that's an independent lawyer, and then the costs questions on this page matter. Often it's CTP Assist or simply a clear next step, and no costs agreement is needed.
Read next:How our claim check works
Do you need a lawyer at all?
The costs question only matters if your claim needs a lawyer, and many claims never do. Here's when legal help is often worth paying for, and when you may manage without it.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- Your injuries are serious and the claim may run for years
- Fault is contested, and it decides whether damages are possible
- A damages claim looks possible, so legal costs are likely to be part of the picture
- Someone died in the crash and the family is considering a claim
You may not need one
- SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service covers your statutory benefits question
- You're recovering and expect to be back to normal within months
- One declined request can be sorted out by sending a document you already have
For statutory benefits questions, SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service may help before any costs agreement is needed. CTP Assist on 1300 656 919 can put you in touch. Do I need a lawyer?
Not quite your situation?
- If the injury happened at work, including on the road for work, workers compensation is usually the scheme that applies first, not CTP. After a crash, a CTP damages claim may still be possible. We can point you to the right help. Free claim check
- For what happens when you first meet a solicitor, including the costs disclosure and agreement you receive, see the compensation solicitor page for Gore Hill. Compensation solicitor in Gore Hill
- If the bigger question is whether a CTP lawyer is worth it for your claim at all, the CTP lawyer page answers that first. CTP lawyer in Gore Hill
Frequently asked questions
You may, depending on the agreement. Some arrangements ask you to cover disbursements, such as expert reports or fees for records, whatever the outcome. Others treat them differently. Ask too what you'd owe if you ended the agreement before the claim finished. Ask the lawyer to set out in writing exactly what you'd owe in an unsuccessful claim, and don't sign until the answer is clear.
Ask about this before you sign, because the answer depends on the agreement and the rules that apply to it. An agreement may include a cooling-off period, and a clear one should explain what happens to costs if you end the arrangement early, including any work already done. If you're unsure, take the agreement away, read it and ask questions first. Signing is easier to delay than to undo.
In an injury claim, it's shorthand for a costs arrangement in which the lawyer is paid professional fees only if the claim succeeds. The arrangement is often set out in what's called a conditional costs agreement. The details vary between lawyers: how success is defined, how disbursements such as expert reports are handled, and what comes out of any compensation. The written terms are what count, so ask for them and read them before you sign.
Yes, and it's sensible to. Ask for an estimate in writing, how it was worked out and what could change it, such as the claim running longer than expected or needing more expert reports. Ask how you'll be told if the estimate changes. An estimate isn't a fixed price, but it gives you something to compare between lawyers and to check against as the claim goes on.
It's generally the kind of agreement behind a no win, no fee arrangement: one where payment of some or all of the lawyer's fees depends on a condition, usually the claim succeeding. What counts as success, and which costs are conditional, are set out in the agreement itself. Terms vary, so read it closely, ask about anything unclear, and keep a signed copy with your claim papers.
That depends on the costs terms, so ask for a written explanation before you sign. Generally, the lawyer's professional fees and any disbursements are paid, and some or all of that may come out of the compensation. In a CTP claim, maximum legal costs are capped by regulation, and in statutory benefits matters the insurer pays the costs the rules allow. Ask for a written breakdown at the end, too.
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CTP Lawyer is not a law firm. This page is general information, not legal advice; the independent lawyer you speak with can advise on your own situation.