Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Success fees definition

What does Success fees mean? In practice, a success fee is the extra amount a lawyer charges only if the case succeeds, usually a percentage uplift on base costs under a conditional fee agreement (CFA or “no win, no fee”). In England and Wales, CFAs and success fees are regulated by the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 and related regulations: the uplift cannot exceed 100% of base costs and, since LASPO 2012, is generally not recoverable inter partes. In personal injury, any deduction from damages is capped at 25% of specified heads. In Scotland, the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018 and...

Success fees under conditional fee agreements: definition, ‘success’ triggers, percentage assessment, staging, recoverability and transitional regimes, proportionality, children/protected parties, appeals (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

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This Practice Note examines success fees, a type of charge that may become payable when a claim succeeds and has been funded by a conditional fee agreement (CFA). It considers:

what is meant by the term ‘success fee’?
are success fees recoverable?
what constitutes a 'success' to trigger payment of the success fee?
what requirements must be satisfied when including a success fee in a CFA?
what is an appropriate success fee percentage?
appeals against decisions concerning success fee percentages
whether the success fee under the funding agreement is payable by the other side as costs
transitional arrangements or exceptions applying post-1 April 2013

For further guidance on dealing with CFAs, see Practice Notes:

Conditional fee agreements—definition and requirements
Types of conditional fee agreements
Conditional fee agreements—assignment of a CFA

What are success fees?

A CFA is an arrangement between a client and solicitor under which the solicitor’s costs (in whole or in part) are only payable in specified circumstances—typically if the client is successful. As a general rule, any disbursements will be payable...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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