We believe that nobody should be denied access to justice because of their financial situation.
If you have a legally sound case, but are not able to afford the costs of litigation, Shine Lawyers’ experts may be able to help you to get the outcome you are entitled to with our No Win, No Fee* option.
What is No Win, No Fee*?
No Win, No Fee* means you only pay our fees if your case is successful. It is not a contingency fee or fees paid on the basis of a percentage of the outcome.
Our No Win, No Fee* terms are subject to terms and conditions outlined in our Conditional Fee Legal Services Agreement (CFLSA). During your obligation-free consultation, we will take you through our fees, explain how they are calculated and if you are eligible for No Win, No Fee*.
Which legal services are eligible for No Win, No Fee*?
Our No Win, No Fee* agreement is available for a number of our legal services. However, we must first do an assessment of your case to decide if it’s suitable.
The legal services under this agreement may be available for claims involving:
- Insurance claims – flood, earthquake, business interruption, health, life, income protection and general insurance
- Abuse law
- Construction law
- Representative (class) actions
How do legal fees work?
Most lawyers traditionally charge based on the time they spend working on your case. This is known as ‘time and attendance’ billing. An hourly rate is applied for every task your lawyer completes – like writing letters, making phone calls, or attending meetings. At the end of the month these charges are added up and billed to you where we complete professional work in a particular month.
This type of billing can quickly become expensive, and you’re required to pay these fees regardless of whether you win or lose your case. That means even if your claim is unsuccessful, you still have to pay for the legal work done.
With No Win, No Fee*, you only pay our legal fees if your case is successful or has a successful outcome. If there is no successful outcome you do not have to pay our legal fees, however if you terminate your retainer with us, we will require payment of our fees.
During your obligation-free initial consultation, one of our legal team members will explain how our fees would work for your case which are also outlined in your CFLSA.
What are the requirements for No Win, No Fee*?
Before we can offer to take on your case under our No Win, No Fee* agreement, we first need to assess whether your case has a good chance of success. This is called due diligence.
We’ll ask you to provide information and documents about your situation so our team can understand the details. We might also need to request additional information to complete our review.
If your case meets our criteria, we’ll offer you a CFLSA. At this stage, there’s no pressure to continue. You can choose to go ahead under the No Win, No Fee* agreement or decide to pay for legal services as you go, under our standard hourly rates.
What if my case isn’t eligible for No Win, No Fee*?
If your case is not eligible for our No Win, No Fee* agreement, you will be required to make an upfront payment for us to begin work on your claim. The cost of this will vary from case to case. However, we will explain this upfront and what other payment arrangements may be available to you.
How much will the total cost be?
If you’re a No Win, No Fee* eligible client, on request, we’ll provide an estimate of the total cost to run your case upfront. This includes both our professional legal fees and any other costs that might come up during your claim.
Our legal fees cover the time and work done by your lawyer and their team. Some cases are more complex and take longer, which can affect the overall cost—but we’ll keep you updated along the way.
Under a CFLSA, you don’t need to pay our fees unless your case is successful.
As part of your claim, there may be extra costs needed to help us prepare your case. These are called disbursements and can include things like court filing fees, or expert assessments. There are also general out-of-pocket expenses such as phone calls, photocopying, faxes, and postage.
While our professional fees are only payable if your case is successful under our No Win, No Fee* agreement, we may still charge you for disbursements.
All of this will be explained to you in advance, and you’ll receive a CFLSA that clearly outlines our fees, disbursements, and when they apply. You can refer to this agreement at any time.
What happens if you lose a No Win, No Fee* case?
If your claim doesn’t succeed, you may be required to pay the other side’s legal costs. This is a risk in any legal case and something you should be aware of from the start. The good news is that if your claim is unsuccessful, Shine Lawyers will not charge you our professional legal fees for the work we’ve done on your case.
However, you may still need to cover:
- Disbursements (e.g. costs for reports or expert advice already obtained), and
- The opposing party’s legal costs, if ordered by the court.
To reduce this risk, we carefully assess every case before accepting it under a No Win, No Fee* agreement. Not every claim will be eligible, and we’ll only proceed if we believe there’s a reasonable chance of success.
Do you take a percentage of my settlement?
No. In New Zealand it is unethical and against the Lawyers & Conveyancers Act for lawyers to charge a percentage of a settlement amount.
Our CFLSA~ is different as our professional fee is either paid (if you win) or not paid (if you are not successful). We are permitted to charge an ‘uplift’ on fees and the CFLSA will explain the fees you could be charged in advance, so there are no surprises later.
Let’s right wrong. Contact Shine Lawyers for an obligation-free consultation
Our expert No Win, No Fee* lawyers can help you to determine your rights and can bring forward a claim on your behalf. Get in contact, or speak to us over the phone for an obligation-free consultation to discuss your case.
Why choose Shine Lawyers?
Obligation-free consultation
Claim assessment where we explain all of the options available
Can’t make it to the office? We can meet with you virtually
No Win No Fee* for suitable cases We are here to help you right wrong.
*All No Win, No Fee cases are subject to our Terms & Conditions and our Conditional Fee Legal Services Agreement
‘Fee’ refers to our fee for professional legal services – the hourly rate charged by your lawyer. It does not cover legal costs awarded by the court (if any) or disbursements.
‘Successful Outcome’ can mean different things – a pre-court settlement, agreed settlement at mediation or a judgment in your favour. What constitutes a ‘win’ in the context of your No Win, No Fee* case will be fully explained to you in the initial consultation and your Conditional Fee Legal Services Agreement.
‘Initial consultation’ may include our first phone call, meeting, as well as our professional time undertaking due diligence on your matter to assess if it meets our No Win, No Fee* criteria. As we receive several requests a day, please do not be offended if our preliminary view is that you do not meet our criteria. Our lawyers will refer you to another law firm where appropriate.
Shine Lawyers does not offer Legal Aid services.
Not all cases will meet our criteria for No Win, No Fee*. We do not take cases on a speculative basis and we cannot guarantee that we will take your case on a No Win, No Fee* basis. We reserve the right to assess which cases and client circumstances are suitable for this option.
