| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
1st Class Legal – Litigation Funding Frequently Asked Questions. 1. Who are 1st Class Legal? 1st Class Legal is a specialist Underwriting House for both ATE insurance and Litigation Funding. We are not brokers. We are a cover-holder for Authorised Insurer and also provide exclusive underwriting services to our Funds and we have extensive and long-term experience of underwriting commercial litigation. 1st Class Legal (I.S.) Ltd is fully authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. 2. Who are the Funders? The funders a investment funds specifically set up for private investors and others to invest directly in litigation funding. For full details please email us at bob@ATEinsurance.com . 3. Is use of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) required? The simple answer is no. In many cases firms are now agreeing with the client that they will act under a partial CFA often 50/50 with 50% under a CFA and 50% under a private client basis. We do not impose what client retainer is used. We are happy to discuss any variations of retainer that the solicitor and/or the client may wish to consider. 4. How does the solicitor own costs funding work? Each case is individually agreed but normally we will fund up to 50% of the solicitor own costs. The firm submits time and work in progress records to us and these are paid either monthly or quarterly whichever we agree in the specific case. 5. Do you impose an hourly charge-out rate? No, we will ask for the details and obviously we are aware of the variations in rates around the country. The specific charge out rates for each level of fee earner will be agreed at inception. 6. What happens if we get a Part 36 Offer? Under the terms of the ATE policy we must be advised and we will take on board your views and the views of counsel if applicable as to the acceptance or rejection of the offer. In practice, this is not a major issue. We are very experienced in handling Part 36 offers and deciding to continue the ATE cover and if we are of the view that the costs risk is too high we will discuss this with you and the client. 7. How secure is the ATE policy? We are delighted to be able to provide high quality and secure ATE insurance that is not only backed by a European wide authorised insurer but it also has substantial A+ rated reinsurance in place. 8. My case has numerous heads of claim, multiple defendants and many other issues – can it still be funded? 1st Class Legal handles cases that range from the relatively simple to the most complex litigation. We will review the matter in detail and advise you of want can and cannot be done. This is our specialty – please contact to discuss the case. 9. Are solicitors required to advise clients of the options available for funding? Yes. Under SRA Rule 2 this is a requirement. We are very experienced in assisting firms of solicitors to have the information they need to be able to fulfill this duty to the client. 10. Do you provide training for our staff on funding and ATE issues? Yes, we will be pleased to discuss this with you and either arrange for an in-house seminar at your firm of for partners/fee earners to attend one of our seminars. If you are not sure of the specific question but simply want to understand the system more fully please call us. We are very aware that many solicitors are going through a learning process in relation to ATE insurance and funding and we will try our best to assist. Call us on 0845 241 2076.
|
 |
|  |
