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Our advice to ensure you benefit from the existing exemption:

Matthew Amey, Director at TheJudge, advises “The LASPO reforms have applied to all other civil litigation since 1st April 2013. The impact on medium to high value commercial litigation has been relatively modest as most of these cases received a global settlement, meaning that the client has always paid from the damages pot. Most insolvency cases receive a global settlement and so the impact of these reforms may not be as significant as R3 have suggested.”

“In light of this development we expect there will be a rush for ATE insurance in the months leading up to April 2015 as solicitors try to ensure their clients obtain an ATE Insurance policy with a recoverable premium. If the months leading up to 1st April 2013 is anything to go by then we may see insurers closing their doors to new applications before 31st March 2014, in an effort to ensure they are able to respond to every application received. We would recommend that solicitors apply for ATE insurance in plenty of time to avoid being unable to secure cover. Unfortunately many law firms left their applications too late during the 2013 deadline, as they didn’t account for the necessary due diligence time for insurers.” 

“We strongly recommend that solicitors and IPs apply as early as possible, especially for larger cases requiring higher than £500k of cover. The capacity in the market is there to support even the largest of cases where legal fees exceed £10m. Furthermore, contrary to some reports, many ATE insurers can still offer fully deferred and contingent upon success premiums, and even with premium shortfall cover. Contact an advisor at TheJudge for further information and advice on 0845 257 6058 or email info@thejudge.co.uk.”