A personal injury claim, week by week
Week one. You call. A solicitor takes the details of the accident, the injury and who you think was at fault, and tells you whether there is a claim worth bringing. If there is, we explain the No Win, No Fee agreement, the percentage and the cap, in writing.
Weeks two to six. We notify the other side's insurer, who has a set period under the pre-action protocol to investigate and respond on liability. Meanwhile we arrange an independent medical examination, at no cost to you.
Months two to six. The medical report arrives and sets out the injury, the prognosis and any ongoing effects. We gather your financial losses — lost earnings, treatment, travel. Where liability is admitted, we value the claim and negotiate.
Months six to twelve. Most claims settle here. Where the insurer will not make a reasonable offer, we issue proceedings — which very often produces one. Very few claims reach a final hearing.
What you actually do in all of that: attend one medical appointment, keep your receipts, and answer the occasional question. The rest is us.
A housing disrepair claim
Week one. You tell us what is wrong and how long you have been reporting it. The first thing we ask for is anything in writing — emails, portal reports, letters. That evidence of notice is what the case turns on.
Weeks one to two. Where the disrepair is serious, we send an early notification letter immediately so the landlord can start work before the full claim is even prepared. Getting the repairs moving is usually what matters most to you, and it is the first thing a claim does.
Weeks two to eight. The letter of claim goes out. The landlord has 20 working days to respond and must disclose their repair records — which is frequently where the case is won, because it shows exactly how long they have known.
Months two to five. A single joint expert, agreed by both sides, inspects and reports on the defects and the cost of putting them right. This is usually the point at which works get scheduled.
Months four to twelve. Repairs are carried out and we negotiate compensation for the period you lived with the disrepair.
We act against councils and housing associations. We do not take claims against private landlords, and we say so on the first call rather than after taking your details.
A hearing loss claim
Week one. You tell us where you worked or served and what you were exposed to. We confirm whether there is a claim and explain the funding.
Weeks one to eight. We obtain your HMRC employment record to establish exactly who employed you and when, then trace the employers' liability insurer for each relevant period. Most of our clients worked for companies that no longer exist — this is our problem to solve, not yours, and it very rarely stops a claim.
Months two to four. An independent consultant examines you and produces an audiogram, reporting on how much of your loss is noise-related rather than age-related. That report is the centre of the case.
Months four to fourteen. Letters of claim to each insurer, then negotiation. Where several employers contributed, damages are apportioned between them by the dose of noise each caused.
Months twelve to eighteen. Settlement. For military claims, service medical records — including the audiograms taken on entry and discharge — often show precisely when hearing began to deteriorate, which is unusually good evidence.
An immigration application
Day one. A free conversation. You explain the situation, we tell you which route fits, whether you meet it, and what it would cost — in that order. Sometimes the answer is that the route you were told to use is not the best one available to you, and that conversation alone changes the outcome.
Days one to two. A written fixed-fee quote for the legal work, plus a clear statement of the Home Office fees and health surcharge you will pay separately. Those are often larger than our fee and you should be budgeting for the real total.
Weeks one to four. A precise document list, tailored to your circumstances. We check everything you send before it goes near an application form — this is where applications are won, because the Rules specify not just what you must show but exactly how.
Weeks three to six. Application completed, submissions drafted, fees paid, biometrics booked.
Until decision. Any Home Office request comes to us. You are told what is happening rather than left refreshing a portal.
No immigration work is No Win, No Fee — conditional fee agreements are not permitted for it by anyone.
A settlement agreement review
Day one. You send us the draft. We read it the same day and confirm the fee contribution position, so you know where you stand on cost before anything else. In most cases your employer pays and the advice costs you nothing.
Same day or next. A solicitor goes through it clause by clause and tells you plainly whether it is fair — measured against what you would be likely to recover if you brought a claim instead.
Days two to seven. Where it is worth negotiating, we put the points in writing. Usually the money, the reference wording, the announcement to colleagues, or the confidentiality clause. We will tell you honestly when an offer is already good.
Within 48 hours of agreeing terms. We sign the adviser's certificate, you sign, and your employer pays.
The part most people do not know: the agreement is not binding on your employer unless you have taken independent advice. That is the leverage, and it is why the fee contribution exists.