The new edition of the White Book was recently published. This year we purchased the online firmwide edition which comes bundled together with Volume 2. It is a number of years since I had seen Volume 2. This includes a section on costs and funding containing various reference resources such as: Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, Damages Based Agreements Order 2013, pre-Jackson costs CPR provisions, etc.
I was surprised to see the inclusion of the Law Society Model Conditional Fee Agreement (2014). Other than a footnote stating: “This model Conditional Fee Agreement for use in Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence cases is reproduced with the kind permission of the Law Society”, there was no further commentary.
The inclusion of this document, without any form of caveat, is surprising given the Law Society themselves no longer publish this agreement. It was removed from their website in July 2021 with a message stating:
“The Law Society’s model conditional fee agreement (CFA) is in the process of being reviewed, and so is not currently published. Solicitors using an old version should be aware that it does not reflect all of the recent changes to legislation, or case law, that may affect the viability of CFAs. The model CFA and guidance were last updated in 2014. The model is intended for use in personal injury and clinical negligence claims. We will issue a revised version in due course, taking into account ongoing judgments from 2021. Thank you for your patience in the meantime.”
In a dramatic development in December 2023 the website was updated to advise:
“The Law Society’s model conditional fee agreement (CFA) is in the process of being reviewed, and so is not currently published. Solicitors using an old version should be aware that it does not reflect all of the recent changes to legislation, or case law, that may affect the viability of CFAs. The model CFA and guidance were last updated in 2014. The model is intended for use in personal injury and clinical negligence claims. The CFA will be reviewed in light of the court’s decision in Belsner v CAM Legal Services in October 2022. We will issue a revised version in due course. Thank you for your patience in the meantime.”
As of today, no revised version has appeared on the website.
In entirely unrelated news, solicitors are set to pay £38m towards being represented by the Law Society after it announced plans for a 2% rise in the income it takes from the coming year’s practising fees.
At least no one can complain that the Law Society is failing to get the basics right.
