The Courts in England and Wales have made it clear through the recent developments in the law relating to litigation funding that legal costs and expenses should not hinder access to justice. To this end, the Courts have:

• simplified the requirements and regulation of CFAs in an attempt to encourage solicitors to back their own advice to clients and share some of the litigation risk by using CFAs more frequently

• supported the full recovery of ATE premiums from opponents where the premiums are reasonable

• encouraged the use of third party funding as a method of providing access to justice for those who cannot afford, or do not wish, to pay the cost of taking their case to trial

If you have a good case, you should take advantage of the funding structures that the Court has endorsed. By using any one of or a combination of a CFA, ATE Insurance and Third Party Funding (TPF), you may be able to do one or more of the following:

• define more clearly what financial risk you are exposed to in each of the possible outcomes of your case (CFA, ATE and TPF)

• pay a reduced rate (CFA or TPF) or nothing at all to bring your dispute to Court (TPF)

• exclude the risk, at effectively no cost, of paying your opponent’s costs and expenses, and possibly some of your own disbursements, if you lose (ATE)

As well as giving you control over your financial exposure to the litigation, these funding arrangements may also bring strategic advantages:

• your opponent will be on notice that your case is being funded, with the likely downside to them of additional payments - the ATE insurance premium, a CFA success fee - if you are successful. Your opponent will not know the amount of these additional liabilities. In other words, its financial exposure and the level of its litigation uncertainty have been increased, probably significantly. This will impact, to your advantage, any settlement negotiations.

• the fact that your case is being funded will mean that another party - Addleshaw Goddard via a CFA, the ATE insurer or the third party funder - has assessed the merits of your case and decided to invest in it. Your opponent will know that following these independent assessments of your legal position, unconnected parties are willing to “buy into” the prospects of your success. This is a powerful message to send to your opponent.