What no win no fee means in Scotland
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Published by Rooney Family Law Limited, solicitors, regulated by the Law Society of Scotland. Last reviewed 20th September 2026.
A no win no fee agreement, which Scottish law calls a success fee agreement, means that if your claim fails you pay your solicitor no fee. If it succeeds, the solicitor takes a success fee out of your compensation, and the law caps it at 20 per cent of the first £100,000, including VAT.
The caps
The Success Fee Agreements (Scotland) Regulations 2020 set a maximum for personal injury claims: 20 per cent of the first £100,000 of damages, 10 per cent of the next £400,000 and 2.5 per cent of anything above £500,000, all including VAT, with particular rules protecting large awards for future loss. On compensation of £10,000 the most any Scottish solicitor can take is £2,000.
The cap is a maximum, not a fixed price. Firms may charge less, and the firm must state its actual percentage in writing in its agreement with you, before you sign.
You cannot be charged for the cost of running the claim
This surprises people, and it is one of the better features of the Scottish system. Under section 6 of the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, a personal injury success fee agreement must provide that you are not liable to pay anything other than the success fee, including the outlays incurred in running the claim, whether or not you win. Medical reports, court fees and the rest come out of the firm's side of the arrangement rather than being billed to you.
There is one exception: the premium for an insurance policy taken out to protect you can be deducted if such a policy is used. The firm must tell you in writing whether it uses one and what it costs.
The protection against the other side's costs, and its limits
Since 30th June 2021, a rule called qualified one-way costs shifting means that if you bring an injury claim in Scotland and lose, you are not normally ordered to pay your opponent's legal expenses. It comes from section 8 of the 2018 Act and it is a substantial protection.
It is not absolute, and the exceptions are the part that rarely gets explained. You can lose the protection if you or your representative act fraudulently, behave in a manner that is manifestly unreasonable, or abuse the court process. Under the 2021 court rules you can also lose it if you turn down a formal offer of settlement, called a tender, and then do worse at proof; if you unreasonably delay accepting a tender; if you abandon the action; or if summary decree is granted against you in the sheriff court. Where an exception applies in the tender cases, what you can be ordered to pay is limited, including a cap of 75 per cent of your damages.
In plain terms: the protection is real, but it rewards behaving reasonably. Taking your solicitor's advice on a settlement offer, and not walking away from a raised action on a whim, is how you keep it.
What the other side pays if you win
If your claim succeeds, the losing side normally pays a contribution to your legal expenses. That is a separate payment from your compensation and it goes towards your solicitor's work. The success fee is on top of that and comes out of your damages. The regulations require the agreement to state whether the firm keeps the recovered expenses, so look for that term.
What to ask before you sign
What percentage will you actually charge, not the maximum? Do you keep the expenses recovered from the other side? Is an insurance policy being used, and what does the premium cost? What happens if I decide to stop the claim, or do not follow your advice on an offer? What happens if I want to change solicitor? A good firm will answer all five without hesitation, and the answers should be in the written agreement.
Alternatives worth checking first
Before signing anything, check whether you are already covered. Trade union members often have free legal assistance for injury claims and it is usually a good deal. Many home and motor insurance policies include legal expenses cover you have already paid for. We will ask you about both, because one of them may suit you better than a referral from us.
Questions people ask
Is it really no cost if I lose?
No success fee, and normally no liability for the other side's expenses, subject to the exceptions above. Read the agreement for the insurance premium position.
Why would a firm work for nothing if it loses?
Because it expects to win most of the cases it takes, and it recovers expenses from the other side when it does. It is also why firms decline claims they think will fail.
Can I just pay by the hour instead?
You can, if a firm will act on that basis. Very few injury claimants choose it.
Tell us what happened
We assess your enquiry free of charge and, with your consent, refer good claims to a specialist personal injury firm, which decides whether to take your case on. We receive a referral payment from that firm, paid out of the fee it earns; under our agreement it must not increase the success fee you are charged.
Sources for this page: Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, sections 1 to 8; Success Fee Agreements (Scotland) Regulations 2020, regulations 2 and 4; Act of Sederunt (Rules of the Court of Session 1994, Sheriff Appeal Court Rules and Sheriff Court Rules Amendment) (Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting) 2021; Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2021.