A CJC working party report on damages-based agreements (DBAs) – also known as contingency fees – called for: no limit on the damages from which a contingency fee can be taken in PI cases; contingency fees be extended to civil litigation generally; one set of regulations for all DBAs; and a consistent regulatory approach to DBAs and conditional fee agreements to avoid “costs wars”.

It said PI cases should be capped at 25%, employment cases at 35%, but was divided on on commercial cases – most favoured no cap while others wanted a cap of 50%, particularly for consumer or small business claims.