The first meeting with a personal injury lawyer is also an interview, and you are the one hiring. The costs agreement you sign will govern years of work and a share of your compensation, so the questions you ask before signing matter more than anything you ask afterwards. These twelve cover experience, the terms, the money and the relationship, and each one is a question a good practice will welcome.
The short answer
Ask who will actually handle your matter and how many claims like yours they have run in your state; what No Win No Fee covers and what sits outside it; how disbursements are funded and whether an uplift applies; what you pay if you lose, stop or change lawyers; how the claim will be valued and updated; and how you will be kept informed. Get every answer in the written costs agreement, not in conversation.
About experience
1. How many claims like mine have you run in this state? Schemes differ. A lawyer who runs NSW workers compensation claims may not know the Queensland notice regime, where the Notice of Accident Claim Form is due within 9 months or 1 month after first instructing a lawyer (MAIC). Ask for the number and the scheme.
2. Who will do the work day to day? The person at the first meeting is often not the person who runs the file. Ask for the name, role and experience of the lawyer and the support staff, and who supervises them.
3. What do you think the main risks in my claim are? A lawyer who names the threshold, the causation problem or the contributory negligence argument at the first meeting has read your facts. In NSW, for example, a work injury damages claim needs at least 15% permanent impairment for a physical injury (Workers Compensation Act 1987 s 151H); if that is uncertain, the lawyer should say so.
About No Win No Fee
4. What exactly counts as a win? Any payment, or a payment above a set amount? A settlement that only covers medical expenses can be a “win” under some agreements.
5. What is outside the No Win No Fee promise? Usually disbursements: medical reports, court fees, expert fees, travel. Ask which are covered, which you pay as you go and which come out of the settlement.
6. Is there an uplift fee, and how is it calculated? Some agreements add a percentage to professional fees for the risk of acting on a conditional basis. Ask the percentage, what it applies to and whether it is capped.
7. What do I pay if the claim fails? Professional fees may be waived, but disbursements and the other side’s costs can remain. Ask whether the practice or an insurer covers adverse costs.
About money and value
8. What is your estimate of total costs, and when will you update it? Costs disclosure is required by law, and a written estimate updated at each milestone is reasonable practice. Ask for the estimate as a range.
9. How will you value my claim and explain the range? The answer should cover the heads of damage under your state’s rules and the thresholds, such as severity of at least 15% of a most extreme case for non-economic loss in NSW (Civil Liability Act 2002 s 16) or a significant injury in Victoria (Justice Victoria).
10. What happens if I stop the claim or change lawyers? Ask what is payable on termination and how the file is transferred. Some agreements make fees payable on transfer; others defer them to the outcome.
About the relationship
11. How and how often will you update me? A written update at each milestone and a response to questions within an agreed time should be in the agreement.
12. Do you receive or pay referral fees, and who is responsible for disclosing them? If you were referred, the practice must disclose any fee or benefit as the law requires. Ask whether it affects what you pay.
| Question | Get in writing |
|---|---|
| Who does the work | Names and roles in the costs agreement |
| What counts as a win | The definition in the agreement |
| Disbursements | Which are funded, when they are payable |
| Uplift | Percentage, base and any cap |
| If the claim fails | Your liability for disbursements and adverse costs |
| If you stop or transfer | Fees payable on termination |
| Estimate | A range, updated at milestones |
| Communication | Update frequency and response times |
Reading the costs agreement
A costs agreement is a contract, and the parts that matter most are usually the parts written in the smallest type. Read for five things.
The definition of success. It decides when professional fees become payable. If it says “any compensation”, a settlement that covers only medical expenses triggers fees. Ask for a definition tied to a net benefit to you.
The charging basis. Hourly rates, a fixed fee, or a percentage. Hourly rates should come with an estimate of hours by stage. Look for the rates of every person who may work on the file, not only the principal.
Disbursements. The agreement should say which disbursements the practice funds, whether interest is charged on them and when they are recovered. Expert reports are the largest item in most claims.
Termination. What happens if you end the agreement, if the practice ends it, or if you die. Some agreements make full fees payable on termination; others defer them until the claim resolves.
Disclosure. Australian law requires a lawyer to disclose the basis of costs, an estimate of total costs and your rights to negotiate and to have a bill assessed. If the disclosure is missing or vague, ask why before signing.
Take the document away and read it at home. A practice that will not give you a day to read its own agreement is telling you something. Keep every version you are given, because agreements are sometimes varied mid-claim, and keep the itemised bill at the end so the deductions can be checked against the terms.
Red flags
- Pressure to sign at the first meeting.
- Promises about outcomes or amounts.
- A refusal to put an estimate in writing.
- Vagueness about who will run the file.
- No explanation of the state’s thresholds or deadlines, such as the 3-month NSW CTP statutory benefits deadline (Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 s 6.13).
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to sign at the first meeting? No. Take the costs agreement away, read it and ask questions. A deadline can be protected by lodging the statutory claim without signing a costs agreement.
Is No Win No Fee the same everywhere? No. The written terms decide it, and they vary between practices and claim types.
Can I negotiate the terms? You can ask. Uplift percentages, disbursement funding and communication terms are all things practices adjust.
Where do I check the lawyer’s credentials? Each state’s law society or legal services board publishes a register of practising certificates.
This article is general information, not legal advice, checked on 26 September 2026. An enquiry with Australian Claim Helpline does not appoint a lawyer or pause a time limit; the No Win No Fee guide and the legal fees guide go deeper.
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Start the free claim check Read the guide to personal injury lawyers in AustraliaGeneral information published 26 September 2026. It is not legal advice and may not reflect later changes to the law or a scheme. Check your own position with a qualified adviser.
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